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Dwight,   Henry  Otis,   184  3- 

1917. 
h  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 


A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 


Selim 


^^^ 


A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

u4  Present  Day  Story 
of  Islam   in    Turkey 


'919 


By  . 

HENRY  OTIS  DWIGHT 

Author  of  *'  Constantinople  and  Its  Problems y** 
"Turkish  Life  in  War  Time,''  etc. 


New  York         Chicago         Toronto 
Fleming     H.     Revell     Company 

London        and        Edinburgh 


c^ 


Copyright,  19 1 3,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  125  North  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  Street,  W. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      100    Princes    Street 


T 


Introductory  Note 

HERE  is  a  pathetic  significance  in 
this  true  story  of  a  heart  quest  for  a 
better  religion  than  is  to  be  found  in 
the  wild  fastnesses  of  the  Kurdish  mountains. 
There  is  a  strange  fascination  to  many  a 
thoughtful  soul  in  the  *'  Man  with  a  black  hat 
and  a  white  life  "  who  bears  the  gospel  mes- 
sage to  the  Eastern  world.  To  many  who 
hide  their  secret  yearnings  amid  the  shad- 
ows of  Islam  he  brings  welcome  news  of 
a  religion  which  shows  a  better  way  and 
teaches  a  higher  life.  The  symbolic  de- 
scription of  the  missionary  above  given  repre- 
sents not  an  unusual  verdict  of  native  public 
opinion,  whether  his  teachings  are  or  are  not 
accepted.  Beneath  his  black  coat  and  his 
foreign  attire  is  discovered  a  white  heart,  and 
the  light  of  the  heart  shines  out  in  the  life 
itself,  and  imparts  a  luminous  charm  to  what 
at  first  may  have  seemed  to  be  a  forbidding 
and  alien  exterior. 

The  young  hero  of  this  story  is  typical,  I 
believe,  of   many  wistful   searchers   after   a 
5 


6  Introductory  Note 

more  satisfying  guide  than  they  find  in  Islam, 
and  they  discover  in  the  missionary  one  who 
reflects  in  his  gentle  and  kindly  attitude,  and 
his  loving  service,  the  character  of  that  Su- 
preme Guide  who  may  be  trusted  to  point 
the  way  to  a  nobler  life  here  and  to  grander 
hopes  beyond. 

Dr.  Dwight's  local  colouring  is  genuine, 
and  he  gives  true  glimpses  into  real  expe- 
riences in  the  lives  of  thoughtful  Moslems 
whose  hearts  have  not  found  peace  and 
spiritual  rest  in  Islam.  This  story  of  Selim 
suggests  struggles  and  perils  of  which  the 
free  born  know  nothing.  The  author  has 
lived  for  many  years  in  the  atmosphere  of 
incidents  such  as  he  records,  and  can  vouch 
for  the  basis  of  truth  which  underlies  them. 

James  S.  Dennis. 


Contents 

I. 

The  Kurd's  Bed   .        .        . 

9 

11. 

At  the  Breakfast  Table     . 

22 

III. 

At  Daisy  Time      .... 

33 

IV. 

A  Career  for  Selim     . 

47 

V. 

Sf.t.im  Wins   ..... 

58 

VI. 

The  Nakishbendi  Dervishes 

69 

VII. 

The  Perfect  Guide 

81 

VIII. 

The  Book 

93 

IX. 

The  Toy  of  Fate 

no 

X. 

The  Foreigner   With    a   Black 

Hat 

122 

XL 

A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species 

136 

XII. 

In  Darkness  a  Great  Light 

150 

XIII. 

For  the  Sake  of  My  People 

165 

XIV. 

From  the  Snare  of  the  Fowler 

180 

I 

THE  KURD'S  BED 

IN  the  far  east  of  Turkey,  high  among  the 
spurs  of  the  Zagros  mountain  chain,  is  a 
green  plateau  renowned  in  all  that  region 
for  its  exquisite  beauty.  Very  likely  it  is  the 
bed  of  some  ancient  lake,  about  two  miles 
long.  It  is  shut  in  on  the  east  by  the  snowy 
peaks  of  the  Persian  frontier.  On  the  north 
and  south  its  bounds  are  the  tangled  ridges 
of  Shehrezor.  On  the  west  it  looks  out  over 
a  deep  and  wooded  valley  to  blue  and  distant 
hills.  A  stream  of  clear  cold  water  from  the 
mountains  wanders  across  its  northern  end, 
and  all  through  the  summer  when  the  lands 
below  are  roasted  brown,  gracious  rains  keep 
its  herbage  green.  Nature  has  lavished  upon 
it  her  best  skill  in  landscape  gardening,  plac- 
ing here  and  there  grayish  clumps  of  rock- 
roses  and  emerald  ilex  oak  and  other  low- 
growing  shrubs  ;  and  now  scattering,  now 
massing  flowers  of  amazing  distinction  in 
form  and  colour.  Dwellers  in  the  hot  cities 
of  the  plains  would  fain  climb  the  mountains 
to  so  charming  a  summer  retreat.  But  it  is 
9 


10  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

preempted  by  Kurdish  nomads.  So  the 
Turks  call  this  plateau  Kurd-yataghi — the 
Kurd's  Bed. 

When  the  Mikaeli  clan  of  Kurds  set  forth 
in  early  spring  from  their  winter  village  on 
the  southern  plains  near  Baghdad,  as  their 
forefathers  did,  they  brought  their  wives  on 
horseback  like  gypsies,  their  children  in 
baskets  lashed  to  the  pack  saddles,  their 
horses  and  donkeys,  their  big  and  fierce 
shepherd  dogs,  and  their  great  flocks  of 
sheep  and  goats,  to  this  lovely  wild  garden. 
The  black  tents  of  the  clan  were  pitched  in  a 
long  straggling  group  on  the  bank  of  the 
dancing,  sparkling  stream  at  the  northern 
end  of  the  plateau.  The  larger  these  tents 
the  higher  the  dignity  of  their  occupants. 
The  great  six-poled  tent,  a  little  apart  from 
the  others  at  the  western  end  of  the  camp,  be- 
longed to  the  chief  of  the  clan,  Hassan  Bey. 

On  one  peerless  afternoon  in  Ramazan 
(the  month  of  fasting)  Hassan  Bey's  old 
servant,  Suleiman,  was  sitting  on  a  log  in 
front  of  the  tent  where  his  master  lay  dozing 
away  the  last  weary  hour  before  sunset. 
Yahya,  the  head-shepherd,  squatted  on  his 
heels  near  by. 

**  I  tell  you,  Suleiman,"  said  he,  ''  there  is 
no   end   to   my   troubles.     It   surely  was    a 


The  Kurd's  Bed  1 1 

shepherd  who  made  the  proverb  that  when 
death  came  into  the  world  its  excuse  was 
worry." 

*'  The  flocks  always  bring  us  the  same  old 
headaches.     What's  the  matter  now  ? " 

'*  It  isn't  the  flocks  so  much  as  it  is  the 
men.  They  say  Selim,  son  of  Hassan  Bey,  is 
not  an  easy  believer.  Mulla  Mehmed  said  in 
his  sermon  that  every  round  of  worship 
causes  a  new  angel  to  be  created  whose 
duty  it  is  to  beseech  God  to  remember  in 
mercy  the  worshipper.  Selim  heard  and 
said,  '  God  is  merciful  outright,  and  has  no 
need  to  create  angels  to  ask  Him  to  be  merci- 
ful.* " 

"  Don't  worry  yourself  to  death  over  Selim. 
Mothers  ought  to  bring  forth  such  children  by 
fives.  The  flocks  give  you  worry  enough 
without  your  minding  Selim's  religious 
ideas." 

**  Well,  but  you  know  this  way  of  talking 
is  not  good  for  religion.  They'll  say  it's  no 
use  to  pray  next.  Selim  told  somebody  he 
would  rather  not  go  to  heaven.  If  he  can't 
do  it  at  least  let  him  say  it." 

"  When  Selim  gets  an  idea  he  goes  after  it 
like  a  donkey  that  sees  a  melon  rind.  But 
he  does  the  prayers  all  right " 

The  two  men  sprang  to  their  feet,  for  Has- 


12  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

san  Bey  in  his  long  blue  robe  appeared  at 
the  entry  of  his  tent. 

**  Peace  to  you,  Yahya,"  said  Hassan  Bey. 
**  How  about  the  moping  ewe  ?  Did  you  cure 
her?" 

*'  She  hasn't  eaten  anything  since  her 
lamb  died  ;  and  she  would  not  let  another 
lamb  come  near  her.  I  got  big  Fikri  to  help 
while  I  held  a  hungry  lamb  under  my  cloak. 
Fikri  fondled  the  moping  ewe  a  little.  Then 
suddenly  he  put  his  fingers  into  her  nostrils 
and  clutched  the  fleece  by  the  tail  and  lifted 
her  from  the  ground  while  he  spun  round  on 
his  toes  like  a  whirling  dervish.  When  he 
dropped  her  the  ewe  was  dizzy  and  I  popped 
the  lamb  from  under  my  cloak  and  put  it  by 
her  side.  The  lamb  was  hungry  and  there 
was  no  more  trouble.  You  see  the  ewe  had 
her  memory  shaken  up  by  the  whirl ;  and 
now  the  lamb  is  going  to  be  a  fatty,  as  it  has 
two  dams." 

*'  That  is  good.  How  about  the  people 
that  camped  at  the  other  end  of  the  plateau  ? 
Did  you  send  them  away  ?  " 

"  I  sent  them  away  twice.  But  that  man, 
like  a  post,  stands  and  understands  nothing. 
We  shall  have  to  go  out  some  night  and 
throw  them  into  the  gully  and  their  tents 
after  them." 


The  Kurd's  Bed  13 

"  That's  all  right.  But  wait  until  after  the 
fast  is  over.  You  were  saying  something 
about  Selim.     What  is  it?" 

'*  Oh,  nothing ;  we  all  love  Selim  very  much. 
Honey  drips  from  his  mouth." 

"  But  you  said  something  about  his  going 
to  heaven." 

"  Oh,  it  was  nothing,  I  assure  you,"  said 
Yahya  in  confusion. 

"  Tell  me  what  Selim  said  to  you." 

"  He  didn't  say  it  to  me.  They  say  that  he 
doesn't  want  to  go  to  heaven." 

**  Well,  want  it  or  not,  he  will  have  to  go 
there,  for  he  is  very  careful  about  the  fast  and 
the  ablutions  and  the  regular  worship  down 
to  the  smallest  word.  The  trouble  with 
Selim  is  that  his  ear  doesn't  hear  half  that 
comes  out  of  his  mouth.  He  isn't  an  enemy 
of  religion  although  you  think  so.  But  leave 
this  to  me.  I'll  stop  his  thinking  such  things. 
It  is  nearly  sunset ;  we  must  get  ready  for  the 
worship." 

Suleiman  and  his  fellow  servants  brought 
out  prayer  rugs  and  spread  them  on  the 
grass  beyond  the  brook.  Meanwhile  the 
women  in  their  gaily  coloured  dresses,  their 
necklaces  of  small  coins  and  cloves  and  all- 
spice, and  their  painted  handkerchiefs  pinned 
over  round  caps  of  white  felt,  were  bustling 


14  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

about  among  the  tents  ;  for  dinner  would  soon 
be  demanded.  They  could  not  join  in  the 
worship  of  the  men. 

When  Hassan  Bey  in  his  blue  robe  walked 
to  the  brookside  servants  dipped  water  to 
pour  into  his  palms  that  he  might  wash  his 
face  and  feet.  As  he  washed  he  muttered, 
"  In  the  name  of  God  the  merciful  and  com- 
passionate.'* All  along  the  banks  of  the 
brook  the  men  of  the  camp,  without  one  lag- 
gard, were  performing  ablutions  in  the  same 
solemn  way.  The  most  of  them  wore  a  kind 
of  blouse  of  red  and  white  striped  cotton 
stufi,  and  wide  woolen  trousers  coloured  after 
the  fashion  of  the  clan  in  broad  stripes  of 
brown  and  yellow.  Those  better  ofif  among 
them  wore  over  their  blouses  sleeveless  black 
vests  of  fleece-like  surface,  decorated  in  front 
with  gold  lace.  All  had  the  ends  of  their 
shirt  sleeves,  which  were  so  long  as  to  drag 
on  the  ground,  tied  behind  their  necks  or 
wrapped  around  their  wrists.  A  girdle  bound 
the  waist  of  each  stuck  with  as  many  daggers 
and  pistols  as  its  owner  could  get,  w^hile  every 
head  was  crowned  by  a  high  cone  of  gray 
felt  wrapped  with  a  turban  of  gay  cloths  to 
the  limit  of  its  owner's  purse. 

As  the  sun  began  to  sink  behind  the  hills 
a  solemn  feeling,  akin  to  that  of  watchers  at 


The  Kurd's  Bed  15 

a  death-bed,  silenced  the  voices  of  the  men. 
One  heavy  voice  chanted  a  prayer  not  found 
in  the  Mohammedan  ritual — a  reminiscence 
perhaps  from  their  ancestors  the  fire-wor- 
shippers. "  Oh,  Lord,"  he  said,  **  this,  the 
greatest  of  Thy  creatures,  now  passes  from 
our  sight.  We  know  not  whether  we  shall 
see  it  again  ;  but  until  it  comes  back  to  light 
the  world  keep  Thou  us  from  harm.  Its 
light  has  fallen  on  our  sins.  Let  our  sins  go 
with  the  sun  to  the  bottom  of  the  great  deep, 
and  if  from  day  to  day  we  newly  see  Thy 
mighty  sun,  with  its  return  may  we  newly 
see  the  mercies  of  Thy  hand." 

When  the  last  ray  had  flashed  from  the 
crest  of  the  hills  of  blue,  and  the  sun  had 
fully  disappeared,  Hassan  Bey  fired  his  pistol 
as  a  signal  that  one  more  day's  fast  had 
ended.  Instantly  every  man,  muttering 
"  Glory  be  to  the  mighty  Lord,"  drank 
deeply  from  his  water  bottle,  and  with  eager, 
trembling  hands  lighted  his  pipe.  Since  the 
early  dawn,  excepting  children  too  young  to 
take  pride  in  fasting  like  their  parents,  no  one 
in  that  camp  had  cooled  his  parched  lips  with 
water  or  had  tasted  food  or  used  tobacco  to 
calm  his  nerves. 

Before  the  pipes  were  half  smoked  out  a 
young  man  standing  on  the  green  slope  near 


l6  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

the  fold  of  the  lambs  gave  the  ezan  or  Arabic 
call  to  prayer  which  is  heard  five  times  every 
day  by  two  hundred  million  Mohammedans 
of  all  nations  and  tongues.  This  muezzin^ 
named  Selim,  wore  the  white  turban  of  a  stu- 
dent and  the  long  robe  of  a  gentleman.  He 
was  a  tall,  athletic  youth  of  twenty,  and  that 
son  of  the  chief  whose  habit  of  thinking  about 
things  had  caused  such  anxiety  to  the  head- 
shepherd.  Several  of  the  clansmen,  like  the 
shepherd  brothers  of  Joseph,  hated  him  for 
his  dreams  and  his  words. 

At  the  sound  of  his  fine  tenor  voice,  which 
reached  beyond  the  farthest  tent,  the  Kurds 
put  away  their  pipes,  took  off  their  sandals 
like  Moses  at  the  bush,  and  knelt  on  their 
rugs  in  rows,  facing  the  south,  where  lies  the 
sanctuary  of  Mecca.  A  little  in  front  Hassan 
Bey  knelt  with  his  back  to  his  tribesmen, 
while  with  bowed  head  he  muttered  inaudibly 
the  words  of  intention  to  worship.  When  he 
rose  to  his  feet  all  the  men  rose  with  him. 
Each,  following  the  action  of  the  chief,  raised 
his  hands,  palm  to  the  front  with  the  thumbs 
touching  the  ears.  As  Hassan  Bey  said  in  a 
strong  sonorous  monotone  "  Allah  ekber  " — 
God  is  most  great — the  congregation  chanted 
the  words  in  unison.  Folding  his  hands  in 
front  of  him  Hassan  Bey  led  the  congrega- 


The  Kurd's  Bed  17 

tion  in  the  declaration  of  adoration  :  **  Glory 
be  to  God  I  Praised  and  blessed  be  Thy 
name,  O  Most  High  !  There  is  no  other  God 
but  Thee  !  I  take  refuge  in  God  from  Satan 
the  be-stoned!" 

Now  the  sweet  tenor  voice  of  young  Selim 
led  the  people  in  reciting  the  first  chapter  of 
the  Koran  :  '*  In  the  name  of  God  the  merci- 
ful and  the  compassionate.  Praise  God,  the 
Lord  of  all  creatures,  King  of  the  day  of 
judgment.  Thee  only  do  we  worship,  and  to 
Thee  do  we  cry  for  help.  Guide  Thou  us  in 
the  straight  path,  the  path  of  those  to  whom 
Thou  art  gracious,  not  of  those  with  whom 
Thou  art  angry  and  who  go  astray." 

To  this  Hassan  Bey's  deep  voice  added, 
"  God  is  the  only  God,  the  Eternal.  He  be- 
getteth  not,  neither  is  He  begotten,  and  there 
is  none  like  unto  Him  1 " 

Hassan  Bey  then  led  his  people  through 
the  prescribed  form  of  worship.  As  he 
uttered  aloud  the  words  demanded  by  each 
change  of  posture,  the  people  followed  his 
words  and  his  movements  with  military  ex- 
actness. There  is  no  question  as  to  the  power 
of  the  body  to  express  emotion.  The  Mus- 
sulman litany  is  chiefly  composed  of  repeti- 
tions of  fourteen  short  phrases.  All  might  be 
said  by  a  Christian  in  his  worship.     But  the 


1 8  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

distinctive  feature  of  the  service  is  the  change 
of  posture  at  each  successive  stage.  The 
worshipper  by  slow  and  stately  bows  towards 
Mecca,  made  by  all  in  perfect  unison,  ac- 
knowledges the  Divine  Presence.  By  kneel- 
ing with  bowed  head  he  shows  his  humble 
expectancy  ;  and  by  suddenly  throwing  him- 
self forward  until  his  forehead  touches  the 
ground,  repeating  the  quick  action  three 
times,  he  expresses  an  overpowering  sense 
of  his  own  nothingness  before  his  Creator. 
The  Kurds  on  that  mountain  plateau  were 
outlandish  in  appearance.  They  might  care- 
lessly have  been  classed  as  outside  the  pale 
of  the  worshippers  of  Jehovah.  The  strange 
garments  which  they  wore  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  question,  since  they  were  much 
nearer  than  yours  or  mine  to  the  clothes 
worn  by  Moses  and  the  prophets.  In  this 
vesper  service  they  were  worshipping  God. 

After  the  ceremony  was  finished  the  men 
gathered  up  the  rugs,  and  cheerily  chaffing 
one  another  as  they  lighted  their  pipes  they 
hurried  to  their  tents  and  the  long,  full  meal 
which  would  be  their  breakfast.  Several 
small  boys  nine  or  ten  years  of  age  were  in 
the  crowd ;  for  the  children  early  stand  in 
the  prayer  line  to  learn  the  formulas  and 
the  postures  of  worship.     Two  of  the  boys, 


The  Kurd's  Bed  19 

Ismail  and  Jemil,  were  squabbling  over  the 
question  of  how  many  *' rounds"  each  had 
done. 

Ismail  said,  ''  I  did  two  rounds,  and  then  I 
lost  my  count." 

**  I  did  three,"  said  Jemil  with  all  the  pride 
of  youthful  virtue. 

'*  No,  you  didn't,"  said  Ismail.  ''  In  the 
round  when  you  bowed  you  said,  'God  is 
most  great,'  instead  of  *  Praise  God  the  great 
One.'  Besides,  your  back  wasn't  straight 
when  you  said  it.  You  ought  to  have  be- 
gun again  and  done  it  over;  that  round 
doesn't  count." 

''Your  back  was  all  humped  up  when 
you  bowed,"  retorted  Jemil  angrily.  "  That 
doesn't  count  either." 

The  young  religionists  were  at  the  point 
of  battle  when  their  elders  interfered.  The 
men  were  too  hungry  to  delay  then  ;  but  they 
promised  the  children  a  chance  to  show 
which  could  pray  best  in  a  little  competition 
after  dinner.  Each  would  then  do  a  round 
and  the  one  most  scrupulously  careful  would 
win  an  extra  ration  of  dates.  So  love  of  piety 
was  encouraged  in  both. 

In  the  Muslim  vocabulary  a  "  round  "  of 
worship  is  a  complete  series  of  genuflections 
with  the  correct  words  of  adoration  rightiy 


20  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

placed.  Three  or  four  ** rounds"  make  up 
the  whole  service.  This  tends  to  make  wor- 
ship a  more  or  less  mechanical  exercise  which 
can  be  entered  on  a  score-card  like  the  events 
in  an  athletic  meet.  When  the  service  has 
been  carefully  performed,  the  worshipper, 
like  some  of  us  on  leaving  church,  feels  rein- 
stated as  a  fully  acceptable  servant  of  God. 
Evil  deeds  do  not  cut  off  a  Muslim  from 
God's  favour  any  more  than  a  theft  of  jam 
from  the  pantry  cuts  off  a  boy  from  his 
family.  Jemil  and  Ismail  squabbling  over 
the  degree  of  their  perfection  already  per- 
ceived the  importance  of  form  in  the  Mo- 
hammedan system. 

This  worship  of  the  Mohammedan  system 
with  its  rigid  rules  carefully  observed  has 
another  consequence.  It  breeds  a  self-satis- 
faction that  is  truly  delightful.  By  it  a  man 
is  fortified  against  conscience,  for  he  does 
the  prescribed  worship  five  times  every  day. 

So  it  comes  to  pass  that  these  Kurds, 
sturdy,  energetic,  hospitable  and  many  of 
them  well  worth  knowing,  are  on  their  re- 
ligious side  the  most  inflammable  of  men. 
Let  a  word  slur  their  religious  perfection, 
and  therefore  their  system  of  religion,  and 
rage  does  not  express  the  madness  with  which 
they  will  attack  the  blasphemer  of  their  faith. 


TheKurd^sBed  21 

Yet  in  such  an  environment  a  man  infatu- 
ated with  an  original  idea  sometimes  appears 
who  is  scolded  like  a  duck  among  chickens 
and  forced  to  smother  his  idea  or  suffer 
martyrdom.  Several  such  men  are  men- 
tioned in  the  history  of  Islam.  Some  were 
cursed  by  the  orthodox  as  schismatics,  and 
some,  who  were  bright  stars  of  literature, 
were  finally  disposed  of  by  being  flayed 
alive.  When  Hassan  Bey  assured  the  anx- 
ious head-shepherd  that  he  would  make 
Selim  stop  thinking  strange  thoughts,  he 
took  upon  himself  the  plain  duty  of  every 
Mohammedan  father  towards  a  son  who 
tolerates  ideas. 


II 

AT  THE  BREAKFAST  TABLE 

IN  the  early  '90's  there  was  a  little  Scotch 
woman,  who  carried  on  a  school  in  a 
particularly  isolated  and  ignorant  colony 
of  Jews  in  Constantinople.  The  children 
loved  their  teacher.  Their  parents  were 
glad  enough  to  have  their  children  taught. 
Then  all  at  once  the  school  had  no  attractions 
for  the  children  and  the  parents  avoided  the 
teacher,  even  to  crossing  the  road  at  sight  of 
her.  To  their  friends  and  gossips  the  Jews 
explained  that  the  teacher  was  a  worshipper 
of  idols,  with  whom  they  could  have  no  rela- 
tions. 

The  little  Scotch  missionary  on  sitting 
down  to  her  lonely  supper  always  bowed  her 
head  and  gave  thanks  before  beginning  to 
eat.  Her  teapot  stood  before  her,  covered 
by  an  embroidered  tea  cozy  which  was 
shaped  like  the  batde  hat  of  Napoleon. 
Peepers  at  the  window  had  never  seen  a 
Scotch  tea  cozy ;  nor  did  they  know  why  a 
woman  should  say  grace  before  meat.  In 
their  ignorance  their  imagination  had  full 
22 


At  the  Breakfast  Table  23 

scope  and  it  wrecked  the  school  because  it 
transformed  the  lonely  woman  with  a  thank- 
ful heart  into  an  idolater  and  her  wonderful 
tea  cozy  into  an  idol.  And  so  one  more 
squabble  between  religions  was  set  down 
on  the  long  black  list  of  those  which  have 
sprung  from  the  fancies  of  ignorance. 

The  ignorance  of  a  Kurd  like  Hassan 
Bey  was  enough  to  make  him  gasp  if  he 
could  have  realized  it  and  to  keep  him  in 
hot  water,  had  he  not  been  isolated  from  the 
world  by  habits,  language,  and  mode  of  life. 
That  he  could  not  see  his  own  ignorance,  and 
that  his  isolation  fortified  it  made  him  a 
prominent  figure  in  the  adventures  of  Selim. 
Just  at  that  time  of  the  month  of  fasting  he 
was  largely  occupied,  notwithstanding  the 
facts,  in  pleasing  estimates  of  his  own  virtues 
because  of  his  benefactions  to  the  poor  and 
his  afiFable  treatment  of  the  elders  of  his  clan. 
In  that  month  among  Mohammedans  every- 
where one  may  see  at  evening  the  poor 
standing  expectantly  at  the  gate  of  the  rich. 
They  come  heavy  hearted  in  hunger  and 
want ;  they  go  laughing  with  abundance 
to  break  their  fast.  This  custom  of  giving 
portions  to  the  poor  during  Ramazan  is  one 
of  the  pleasing  features  of  Islam. 

Hassan  Bey,  as  soon  as  the  vesper  service 


24  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

was  ended,  ordered  portions  given  to  ten  or 
twelve  poor  families.  Five  well-to-do  clans- 
men he  invited  to  share  his  own  evening 
breakfast.  Ravenous  as  winter  wolves  they 
hurried  to  the  great  six-poled  tent.  They  cast 
off  their  outer  garments  ;  they  laid  aside  their 
ferocious  array  of  weapons  (not  out  of  reach) ; 
they  tied  their  long  shirt  sleeves  behind  their 
necks  to  bare  their  arms ;  and  they  seated 
themselves  cross-legged  in  a  compact  circle  on 
the  carpets  around  a  steaming  kettle  of  soup  of 
curds  flavoured  with  cheese.  A  serious  affair 
was  before  these  bearded  and  turbaned  men, 
and  the  bunch  of  wooden  spoons  lying  ready 
on  the  dining  cloth  were  the  weapons  of 
attack.  All  were  moved  by  a  single  passion 
— to  eat  a  full  meal.  But  all  solemnly  joined 
in  saying  the  simple  grace  before  meat :  *'  In 
the  name  of  God  the  compassionate  and  the 
merciful."  Possibly  the  recognition  of  God 
at  that  supreme  moment  required  more  than 
one  readily  realizes  of  self-control. 

Then  they  fell  to,  eating  rapidly,  apprecia- 
tively and  noisily ;  these  distinctive  features 
of  table  manners  being  laudable  under  Ori- 
ental canons  of  culture.  From  behind  the 
carpet-covered  reed  partitions  of  the  tent, 
soft  voices  of  women  and  merry  laughter 
of  girls  could  be  heard.     But  in  the  group  of 


At  the  Breakfast  Table  2  5 

busy  men  time  failed  for  speech.  The  only 
voice  at  the  evening  breakfast-table  was  that 
of  the  host  hospitably  urging  his  guests  to 
make  sure  that  each  secured  his  full  share. 

These  Kurds  think  it  waste  to  kill  a  sheep 
or  a  lamb  for  food,  except  on  very  extra- 
ordinary occasions.  So  the  evening  meal 
depended  on  quantity  for  its  effect  rather 
than  on  variety.  A  large  platter  of  pilaf 
made  of  cracked  wheat  and  garnished  with 
curds  and  eggs,  bread,  white  butter,  white 
cheese,  and  a  few  dates  and  dried  apricots 
completed  the  bill  of  fare.  Haji  Yusuf,  a 
stout  full-bearded  pilgrim,  sighed  as  he 
gathered  the  last  grains  of  pilaf  with  his 
spoon,  saying,  *^  Excuse  me  !  Any  man  who 
will  leave  pilaf  on  the  platter  ought  to  have 
his  spoon  break  on  its  way  to  his  mouth." 
And  then  Hassan  Bey  said  that  the  hour  had 
come  for  evening  prayer. 

The  men  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and 
four  times  carefully  repeated  the  bowings 
and  kneelings,  and  the  recitation  of  the  words 
of  adoration  used  in  the  service  they  had 
held  at  vespers.  After  completing  the  four 
"rounds"  of  genuflections,  they  sat  down 
and  lit  their  pipes. 

Looking  at  his  watch  when  the  pipes  were 
thoroughly  in  action,  Hassan  Bey  said  to  his 


26  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

guests,  "We  have  two  hours  for  chatting. 
Then  come  three  hours  for  sleep  before  the 
women  call  us  to  eat  again.  Thank  God  we 
can  eat  without  stint !  Else  how  could  we 
live  until  another  sun  sets  ! " 

Mustapha  Aga,  a  very  sleek  old  man  with 
a  grizzled  beard,  remarked,  "  When  God 
shuts  one  door,  He  opens  a  thousand.  If  one 
asks  proof  of  the  divine  origin  of  Islam  here 
it  is.  In  Ramazan  one  can  eat  double  with- 
out harm,  that  none  may  regret  the  fast." 

*'  Yes,  and  a  further  proof  is  that  the  Most 
High  did  not  require  us  to  make  our  flocks 
keep  the  fast,  too,"  said  Yahya,  the  head- 
shepherd,  who,  like  Jacob  when  he  kept 
Laban's  sheep,  was  beginning  to  increase  in 
goods. 

"By  the  way,"  said  Sayid,  the  travelled 
one,  "  your  watch,  Hassan  Bey,  reminds  me. 
Did  you  hear  what  the  old  Sheikh  at  Arbil 
did  to  his  watch  ?  " 

"What  was  that?" 

"  He  let  the  boundary  commission  stay  a 
week  at  his  castle  and  fed  the  whole  crowd  and 
their  guards.  So  the  English  government 
sent  him  a  nice  watch.  One  day  a  Mulla  who 
was  visiting  there  told  him  that  the  English 
make  watches  because  they  alone  know  how 
to  keep  a  pig's  bristle  alive.     They  put  one  in 


At  the  Breakfast  Table  27 

the  watch  and  it  works  of  itself  just  Uke  the 
heart  of  a  man.  It  turns  all  the  wheels. 
*  Open  the  watch,'  he  said,  '  and  you  will  see 
it  curling  and  uncurling  all  the  time,  al- 
though the  English  ate  up  the  pig  long 
ago.' 

"  So  the  Arbil  Sheikh  opened  his  watch 
and  sure  enough  there  was  the  coil  of  hair 
curling  and  uncurling,  all  of  itself.  The 
Sheikh  threw  the  watch  upon  the  pavement, 
and  pounded  the  thing  to  small  pieces  with 
a  big  stone,  saying,  *  O  Lord,  how  long 
shall  these  things  be  in  the  land  of  Islam  ? 
May  curses  follow  the  father  and  the  mother 
and  the  wife  and  the  sister  of  him  who  made, 
and  of  him  who  gave  this  thing.'  " 

*'  Let  it  be  no  ofTense  to  you,  but  Euro- 
peans love  swine  like  their  own  children," 
said  Haji  Yusuf  with  conviction ;  "  they  will 
not  wear  pointed  shoes  like  the  rest  of  the 
world  ;  but  even  have  the  toe  of  the  shoe  cut 
square  like  the  pig's  snout." 

'*  It  is  in  memory  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus," 
said  Yahya,  the  shepherd,  leaning  forward 
in  his  eagerness  to  be  heard.  *'  Mulla 
Mehmed  told  me  that  he  read  in  the  Hfe  of 
Jesus,  upon  whom  be  peace,  that  when  His 
disciples  had  no  bread  they  demanded  that 
He  feed   them  by  a  miracle.     For  this  He 


28  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

changed  them  all  into  swine,  and  the  swine 
rushed  headlong  down  the  hill  and  were 
drowned  in  the  sea,  so  that  the  sea  is  filthy 
near  that  shore  to  this  day." 

''  Great  God  !  '*  said  Osman  Aga  stroking 
his  black  beard.  *'  So  wonderful  a  prophet 
as  Jesus  ought  to  have  known  how  to  man- 
age His  disciples  better.  He  did  nothing 
like  what  our  prophet  did  ;  Mohammed  the 
blessed  was  much  greater ;  may  God  enlarge 
his  race." 

**Yet  some  Muslims  become  Christians," 
said  the  experienced  Sayid. 

**And  get  their  throats  cut  for  their  re- 
ward," said  Osman  Aga,  with  his  hand  at 
his  throat. 

"  Certainly ! "  said  Mustapha  Aga  unctu- 
ously.    **  What  could  they  expect  ?  " 

"  When  I  was  in  Constantinople,"  contin- 
ued Sayid,  "  an  old  man  told  me  that  years 
ago  he  saw  a  young  fellow,  a  Turk  not  older 
than  Selim  here,  who  had  become  a  Chris- 
tian. They  made  him  kneel  in  the  middle  of 
the  street  and  sliced  ofE  his  head.  And  then 
the  English  and  the  Russians  and  the  rest  of 
the  infidel  kings  frightened  our  Sultan  into 
ordering  that  Muslims  should  be  no  more 
executed  for  becoming  Christians." 

*'  God  forbid  !  "  said  Hassan  Bey.     "  God 


At  the  Breakfast  Table  29 

forbid  that  such  an  order  be  obeyed.  Such  a 
renegade  I  would  kill.  If  he  were  my  own 
son,  I  would  kill  him  though  I  had  to  chase 
him  to  China." 

"  To  such  lengths  do  our  Sultans  go  for 
the  favour  of  the  infidels,"  remarked  Haji 
Yusuf.  "If  I  may  venture  to  say  it,  they 
yield  to  the  Europeans  in  everything  instead 
of  cutting  off  part  of  the  Christians  every 
few  years  to  prevent  increase.  The  old 
Sultans  have  mounted  their  old  horses  and 
gone,  and  Islam  suffers." 

*'  Nevertheless,"  said  Sayid,  '*  these  Chris- 
tians from  Europe  make  return  for  favour 
shown.  Look  at  the  curious  and  useful 
things  they  bring.  They  bring  steamers  big 
enough  to  carry  our  whole  tribe,  and  guns 
and  cannon  which  we  can't  make  ;  and  then 
the  litde  things  that  we  use.  Look  at  the 
matches ;  look  at  their  knives,  and  their  pis- 
tols ;  look  at  their  cloth,  coloured  as  ours  is 
but  smooth,  and  true  in  the  figure,  and  yet 
costing  only  half." 

"We  all  know,"  said  Mustapha  Aga,  the 
words  dripping  from  his  lips,  "  that  Christians 
are  the  offscouring  of  the  earth.  They  owe 
their  prosperity  to  the  will  of  Almighty  God 
to  test  the  patience  of  His  chosen  people  who 
do   not   envy   them.     At  the   same   time  it 


30  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

works  for  the  advantage  of  the  people  of  God 
in  another  way,  for  we  are  the  first  to  profit 
by  their  toil.  Where  would  the  Europeans 
look  for  a  market  if  we  did  not  buy  the  gim- 
cracks  which  they  make  ?  " 

"Oh,  pardon  me,"  said  Haji  Yusuf,  *' these 
fine  things  are  all  of  the  devil.  Satan  walks 
visibly  with  men  in  those  lands,  and,  as  the 
Koran  says,  teaches  them  curious  tricks. 
That  is  why  the  Christians  follow  Satan 
instead  of  God.  To  talk  with  them  is  to 
play  with  nettles." 

Selim,  as  the  youngest  of  the  group,  had 
listened  silently  up  to  this  point.  Now,  his 
eyes  sparkling,  he  said,  "  Europe  must  be  a 
good  place  to  learn  things.  I  would  like  to 
live  there  a  while." 

"  Great  God !  Selim,"  said  his  cousin 
Osman,  **  I  never  saw  any  one  like  you  for 
trying  to  milk  a  dead  sheep  ! " 

The  older  men  all  looked  at  Selim  in 
amazement.  Sayid  and  Yahya  the  shepherd 
were  smiling,  for  it  was  by  such  outbursts 
that  Selim  had  acquired  the  nickname  of 
*•'  the  Free-thinker."  Hassan  Bey  merely  re- 
marked sarcastically  to  the  company,  "  Selim, 
after  twenty  years  of  silence,  has  made  one 
remark  and  that  is  wrong." 

"But   how,"  asked   Selim   hotly,   "can   a 


At  the  Breakfast  Table  31 

man  learn  unless  he  goes  to  those  who 
know?" 

"  From  the  Evil  One,"  replied  his  father, 
"  men  learn  evil  only." 

"The  Europeans,"  said  Mustapha  Aga 
sententiously,  '*  show  who  teaches  them  by 
the  restless  haste  seen  in  all  that  they  do. 
Haste  is  always  of  the  devil." 

**  Pardon  me,"  said  Haji  Yusuf  with  his 
most  winning  smile,  *'  what  can  Europeans 
know  that  is  worth  knowing?  They  have 
not  the  Koran ;  that  settles  the  question. 
Even  the  Gospel  which  they  do  have  is  not 
held  in  memory.  If  the  Christians  in  all 
Europe  who  know  the  Gospel  by  heart  were 
gathered  together  they  would  not  equal  the 
number  of  Muslims  in  one  of  our  cities  who  can 
recite  the  Koran  from  end  to  end.  May  God 
keep  our  Selim  from  evils  seen  and  unseen  ! " 

"Everybody  says,"  retorted  Selim,  "that 
we  know  all  there  is  to  know.  In  the  semi- 
nary at  Suleimaniye  there  are  books  written 
a  thousand  years  ago.  Here  in  the  camp 
are  the  sheep.  I  want  to  learn  things  of  use. 
You  all  admit  that  the  Europeans  know 
things  which  we  do  not.  Why  should  we 
not  learn  from  the  Europeans,  rejecting,  of 
course,  what  is  improper  or  contrary  to  our 
faith?" 


32  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

"Selim,"  said  Hassan  Bey  sternly,  "you 
must  have  found  your  soul  in  the  wilderness, 
not  in  my  house.  Men  never  yet  got  milk 
from  a  bull.'* 

The  weight  of  these  conservative  opinions 
silenced  the  young  man.  In  fact  the  con- 
versation flagged  after  this  depressing  inci- 
dent and  the  party  soon  broke  up.  Selim, 
however,  was  affected  in  another  way.  He 
knew  that  he  had  it  in  him  to  be  wiser, 
better,  more  manly ;  and  from  that  moment 
a  vague  aspiration  became  a  resolution  in 
his  soul.  In  some  way  he  would  learn  to 
know,  and  so  be  a  more  noble  man,  as  be- 
fitted his  station  as  heir  to  the  position  of 
Chief  of  the  Mikaeli  clan. 


Ill 

AT  DAISY  TIME 

AFTER  the  daisies  had  begun  to  deck 
the  plateau  with  jaunty  white  tracery, 
a  new  duty  fell  to  the  shepherds. 
Towards  evening  each  day  the  ewes  were 
brought  to  the  camp  to  be  milked.  When 
the  girls  of  the  clan  had  come  ofi  with  flying 
colours  from  the  delicate  task  of  persuading 
the  coy  creatures,  the  shepherds  let  each  ewe 
in  turn  pass  into  the  fold  of  the  lambs.  This 
milking  of  the  flock  was  the  social  event  of 
the  day.  To  it  the  younger  people  came 
from  all  over  the  camp,  as  to  a  parade.  The 
older  folks  and  the  sick  were  furnished  with 
rugs  and  cushions  near  the  tents  as  if  to  see 
a  chariot  race  that  would  stir  their  blood. 

It  was  a  sight  worth  seeing,  and  one  which 
the  Kurdish  poets  love  to  record.  The  whole 
flock  was  in  motion  like  a  wheel,  checked  by 
picket-posts  of  shepherds  from  dashing  away. 
A  score  or  two  of  girls  and  young  women 
broke  into  the  flock  for  the  milking.  The 
ewes,  eager  to  reach  their  lambs,  were  not 
pleased  to  delay  and  give  up  their  treasure ; 
33 


34  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

they  had  to  be  coaxed  like  wayward  children 
and  fondled,  and  perhaps  held  in  a  clinging 
hug  by  one  girl  while  another  drew  the  rich 
foaming  fluid  into  jug  or  basin.  Sometimes 
a  sheep  escaped  the  detaining  arms  and 
struck  out  for  a  run,  springing  high  in  the 
air  to  see  some  outlet  from  the  mob  of  her 
white-fleeced  fellows.  Sometimes  the  shep- 
herds guarding  the  way  to  the  fold  being 
overcareful  at  one  point  let  a  sheep  from 
another  part  of  the  swirling  ring  dodge  them, 
making  straight  for  the  hurdle  fence  and  her 
imprisoned  offspring.  But  a  racing  sheep  is 
handicapped  by  a  jacket  that  favours  the 
hand  of  restraint,  and  the  shepherds  flinging 
themselves  upon  her  like  a  ball  player  upon 
a  coveted  base  would  clutch  her  by  the  fleece 
and  carry  rather  than  drive  her  back  to  the 
restless  flock.  Sweeter  to  a  Kurd  than  any 
orchestra  is  the  chorus  of  the  bleating  dams ; 
meantime  the  lambs  within  the  fold,  hearing 
the  well-known  voices,  add  to  the  general 
uproar  by  their  shrill  cries  of  entreaty.  The 
lively  emotions  of  the  hour  bring  the  sheep 
and  their  masters  together  like  members  of 
one  great  family ;  and  all  at  their  best. 

Selim  was  lounging  on  the  grass  like  the 
other  unoccupied  young  men  ;  watching  the 
strenuous  activities  of  the  shepherds  and  the 


At  Daisy  Time  35 

milkmaids ;  admiring  the  deftness  of  the  girls, 
the  single  purpose  of  the  sheep,  the  hysterical 
excitement  of  the  lambs,  and  the  quick  cer- 
tainty with  which  each  mother  after  being  let 
into  the  fold  picked  her  own  lamb  out  of  a 
hundred,  and  instantly  fell  into  the  mute 
raptures  of  mother  love.  A  pleasure  of 
ownership  was  added  to  the  pleasure  of  the 
function,  for  the  larger  part  of  the  flocks  be- 
longed to  his  father  or  to  his  beloved  uncle 
Kemal  Aga. 

Notwithstanding  his  fitful  lapses  into  de- 
sire to  know  something  beyond  the  Hmits  of 
the  tribe,  Selim  was  shaped  by  nature  to  be 
a  sheep-master,  proud  of  the  great  flocks  that 
fed  on  the  pasture-land  in  front  of  him,  proud 
of  the  isolation  due  to  the  nomad's  manner 
of  life,  and  proud  of  his  birth  that  gave  him 
eminence  among  his  people.  From  the  time 
when  sounds  first  carried  meaning  to  his 
brain  his  birthright  of  nobility  had  been  said 
and  sung  in  his  ears.  On  his  father's  side 
his  lineage  linked  him  with  Osman,  the  third 
Caliph  of  Islam.  On  the  side  of  his  mother, 
Fatima,  the  line  of  descent  led  straight  to 
Abu  Bekr,  the  first  Caliph  and  the  father-in- 
law  of  the  prophet  Mohammed.  Hardly  less 
important  in  the  eyes  of  his  father  was  the 
fact  that  the  Mikaeli  clan,  over  which  the  boy 


36  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

would  one  day  be  chief,  belonged  to  the  great 
tribe  of  Jaff,  which  still  clings  to  the  moun- 
tainous region  where,  long  before  Caliphs 
were  imagined,  their  ancestors  the  Medes 
formed  the  flower  of  the  armies  of  Darius  the 
Great.  It  was  natural  for  Selim,  feeling  the 
blood  of  such  ancestors  coursing  through  his 
veins,  to  scorn  some  things  to  which  common 
men  stoop. 

By  way  of  giving  the  boy  a  bearing  be- 
coming his  rank,  from  the  time  when  he  was 
seven  or  eight  years  old,  Hassan  Bey  used  to 
have  him  sit  by  his  side  whenever  the  recep- 
tion-room of  the  tent  was  filled  with  visitors. 
It  was  an  ordeal  to  be  dreaded.  Selim,  the 
well-born,  sat  apart,  a  model  of  dignity, 
dressed  in  a  robe  like  his  father's  and  crowned 
with  a  neat  little  turban.  Outside  the  tent 
his  half  brothers,  children  of  a  bond-woman, 
trotted  around  in  plebeian  freedom,  all  the 
happier  that  when  the  great  chief  was  look- 
ing the  other  way  they  could  make  faces  and 
stick  out  the  tongue  of  scorn  at  their  aristo- 
crat brother.  This  set  of  experiences  too  had 
a  later  reaction  ;  for  the  boy  not  being  des- 
tined to  be  a  prig  became  a  possible  insur- 
gent against  conceited  formalism. 

Whatever  knowledge  Selim  had  of  litera- 
ture was  due  to  his  father's  determination, 


At  Daisy  Time  37 

for  camps  of  Kurdish  nomads  have  no 
schools.  Arabic  and  Kurdish  Selim  knew 
from  babyhood.  At  eleven  years  of  age  he 
knew  no  word  of  Persian.  But  his  father  set 
him  daily  lessons  in  an  old  Persian  grammar 
to  be  conned  by  shutting  his  ears  to  the  lure 
of  the  woods,  to  be  recited  by  the  camp-fire 
at  night  when  others  were  asleep,  to  be  purged 
of  mistakes  by  whacks  of  the  wooden  fire 
shovel  in  the  heavy  hand  of  his  instructor, 
and  to  be  clung  to  through  fear  ;  for  his  fa- 
ther had  many  times  threatened,  in  case  he 
failed,  to  cut  his  throat  in  order  to  spare  the 
world  an  addition  to  its  hordes  of  blockheads. 
So  after  five  tearful  years  Selim  had  learned 
Persian  grammar  from  a  book  written  en- 
tirely in  Persian  and  knew  it  to  the  last  dot. 
For  reward  he  had  admission  to  the  gardens 
of  Persian  literature,  and  furthermore  a  con- 
viction which  braced  up  his  life  that  labour 
laughs  at  impossibilities. 

The  women  of  the  household  shared 
largely  in  Selim' s  education.  They  taught 
him  unwritten  fragments  'of  sacred  history, 
explaining  the  cleft  tail  of  the  swallow  as  a 
reminiscence  of  her  good  deed  in  warning 
Adam  of  the  malicious  schemes  of  the  ser- 
pent ;  for  the  serpent  in  wrath  struck  at  the 
swallow  and  missed  all  but  the  tail   which 


38  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

bears  the  wedge-shaped  slash  of  the  serpent's 
jaws  to  this  day ;  they  taught  him  never  to 
burn  the  wood  of  the  almond  tree  ;  for  Aaron's 
rod  that  budded  was  a  branch  from  the 
almond  ;  they  taught  him  bits  of  eschatology  ; 
how  one  must  pray  for  death  to  come  on  a 
Friday,  when  all  people  join  in  worship, 
since  on  that  day  the  Recording  Angel  is 
too  busy  with  the  good  to  question  the  bad, 
thus  leaving  to  those  who  need  it  a  loophole 
of  escape  from  the  consequences  of  a  reckless 
life ;  they  taught  him  to  judge  between  the 
good  and  the  bad  before  the  last  day,  for  an 
old  man  whose  beard  grows  white  at  the  side 
first  is  sure  to  be  a  good  man,  whereas  a  bad 
man's  beard  whitens  first  in  the  middle. 
Selim  being  naturally  inquisitive  immediately 
set  himself  a  problem  concerning  his  father, 
for  Hassan  Bey's  beard  had  whitened  all  over 
at  once  !  The  women  of  course  amused  him 
with  wonder-tales  of  astrology  and  magic, 
which  he  thirstily  absorbed,  until  at  twelve 
years  of  age  he  had  a  keen  ambition  to  be- 
come a  magician  as  great  as  Daniel  the 
prophet.  By  stories  with  a  moral,  like 
^sop's  fables,  the  women  roughly  outlined 
for  the  boy  some  ethical  principles.  They 
impressed  him  with  the  latent  brutality  of 
self-will  by  repeating  the  old  story  of  two 


At  Daisy  Time  39 

boys  who  saw  their  old  grandfather  eagerly 
hobbling  from  his  tent  to  watch  the  young 
men  exercise  the  horses,  and  tied  the  feeble 
old  man  to  the  tent-pole  merely  to  hear  the 
shrill  quavering  tones  of  his  squeals  for  re- 
lease. 

All  this  chatter  of  the  women  permanently 
influenced  Selim's  character.  It  disposed 
him,  not  without  qualms  of  conscience,  to 
seek  wisdom  as  the  women  did  outside  of  the 
Koran,  the  source  of  all  useful  knowledge  ;  it 
fixed  in  his  heart  a  sense  of  the  rights  of 
others  which  in  some  degree  acts  as  an 
antidote  to  the  poisonous  fumes  of  selfish- 
ness. In  short,  by  some  peculiarity  of 
temperament,  this  young  fellow  had  drawn 
from  the  common  environment  notions  very 
unlike  those  favoured  by  his  kin.  This  was 
no  more  surprising  than  for  the  violet  to 
draw  qualities  unlike  those  of  the  poppy 
from  the  patch  of  soil  that  nourishes  both. 

While  the  girls  with  glowing  cheeks  pressed 
their  work  to  its  conclusion,  Selim  was  pleas- 
antly ruminating  on  the  restive  pertinacity 
of  the  sheep  restrained  like  himself  from  at- 
taining a  very  proper  object  of  desire.  But 
he  was  not  a  pessimist  that  he  should  brood 
over  his  grievances.  The  sky  was  too  blue, 
the  grass  too  green,  the  tie  between  the  lambs 


40  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

in  the  fold  and  their  anxious  mothers  too 
nearly  human  to  let  him  centre  thought  upon 
himself.  He  savoured  a  content  of  which  he 
could  not  imagine  the  like  elsewhere  in  the 
wide  world.  It  was  a  cheery  hail  which  he 
gave  to  his  cousin,  Osman  Aga,  who  hap- 
pened to  saunter  in  his  direction. 

Osman  threw  himself  on  the  grass  and  be- 
gan to  recount  the  adventures  of  his  journey 
with  five  hundred  sheep  from  the  lower 
pasture.  Not  one  of  the  party  had  time  to 
scratch  his  head  the  night  they  camped  in 
the  Black  Gorge.  From  dark  until  dawn 
they  had  to  watch  the  flimsy  brush  barriers 
of  the  fold,  for  there  were  many  wolves  about. 
Such  a  night  made  it  a  precious  relief  to 
reach  the  plateau  where  there  were  men  and 
dogs  a  plenty  to  call  for  help  when  the  wolf 
skulks  through  the  brush. 

''  Where  is  Kemal  Aga  ?  "  asked  Selim.  '*  I 
have  not  seen  him  since  you  got  back." 

'*  Father  ?  Oh,  he  moves  slowly  and  gets 
left  behind  sometimes.  He  is  near  camp  by 
this  time." 

*'You  surely  did  not  leave  him  without 
help  ?  " 

'*  Great  God  !  No  ;  he  has  his  old  donkey, 
the  lame  one  with  half  an  ear  gone,  you 
know.     There,   did   you   see   that?     Sabri's 


At  Daisy  Time  41 

Ayesha  was  milking  her  father's  big  brown 
ewe,  and  the  very  instant  she  let  go,  the 
creature  vaulted  the  hurdles  of  the  fold. 
Love  for  their  young  sets  these  beasts  on 
fire!" 

But  Selim  was  no  longer  interested  in  the 
sheep.  He  pictured  to  himself  his  old  uncle 
wearily  urging  the  lame  donkey  up  the 
mountainside  while  his  kin  were  taking  their 
pleasure. 

*'  Perhaps  Kemal  Aga  has  got  into  trouble," 
said  Selim.  "  Let's  send  some  of  the  men 
down  the  road  to  meet  him." 

**  Great  God  !  "  cried  Osman,  sitting  up, 
**  what  is  the  use  of  doing  that  ?  In  an  hour 
it  will  be  dark  as  ink.  Besides,  Hemze  is 
somewhere  down  the  road  ;  I  had  to  leave 
him  behind.  The  four  horned  ram  wandered 
away  the  night  of  the  thunder-storm.  Husno 
waited  to  make  sure  by  several  flashes  of 
lightning,  and  then  came  to  tell  me  the  ram 
was  missing.  At  daylight  I  sent  Hemze  to 
find  the  beast.  There  comes  Hemze  now, 
and  empty  handed,  the  worthless  fellow  ! — 
God  be  with  you,  Hemze  !  Didn't  you  find 
the  ram  ?  " 

**  No,  I  saw  nothing  of  it ;  but  I  came  on 
three  tents  of  the  Hekri  clan  who  were  on 
our  trail.     The  ram  was  not  with  their  bunch 


42  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

of  sheep ;  there  was  no  sign  of  meat  or 
fleece.  I  wanted  to  take  a  look  in  the  tents 
but  they  knew  I  was  sheep-hunting  and  did 
not  leave  the  way  open.  I  could  prove 
nothing  and  so  I  came  away." 

'*  Great  God  1  Hemze,  we'll  pick  up  one  of 
theirs  in  exchange.  What  were  they  doing 
on  our  trail  ?  Of  course  they  stole  it.  Did 
you  see  my  father  on  the  road  ?  " 

**  Yes  ;  may  you  live  a  thousand  years  I  " 

Selim  started.  "  You  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  he  is  dead  ?  "  he  asked. 

**  Even  God's  mercy  does  not  interpose  for 
one  who  has  breathed  his  allotted  number  of 
breaths.     May  you  live  forever  !  " 

*'  Where  did  you  find  him  ?  "  asked  Selim. 

"  We  found  the  old  donkey  first.  He  was 
in  the  Water  Valley,  still  alive  but  worn  out 
and  in  his  last  agonies.  Kemal  Aga  must 
have  walked  quite  a  distance,  but  he  was 
evidently  feeble,  for  he  had  sat  down  many 
times.  When  his  strength  gave  out  he  fell, 
and  where  he  fell  he  died,  right  in  the  trail. 
I  passed  through  the  brush  and  missed  him 
the  first  time." 

''  Did  you  bury  him  ?  "  asked  Osman,  who 
had  silendy  let  SeHm  show  emotion  for  both. 

''  Yes,  I  went  back  and  got  those  Hekri 
fellows  to  help.     They  washed  him.     He  was 


At  Daisy  Time  43 

very  old  and  only  bones.  Then  we  said  the 
burial  service  together  and  we  buried  him 
with  his  face  to  the  sunrise.  The  angel  will 
speak  gently  to  him,  for  he  had  all  the  signs 
of  a  Muslim  upon  him  even  to  the  hair  on  his 
arms.     God  pity  him  ! " 

*'  God  have  mercy  on  his  soul ! "  said 
Osman.  **  As  soon  as  we  can  get  some 
mourning  women  from  Suleimaniye  we  will 
make  a  great  mourning  for  him.  He  was  a 
great  man.  As  for  those  Hekri  men  perhaps 
we  may  as  well  not  take  their  sheep  but  call 
it  even.  They  did  good  merit.  But  now  I 
am  the  head  of  the  family.  I  am  going  to 
take  the  bay  mare  now.  My  brothers  always 
have  made  a  fuss  about  my  using  that  mare. 
Now  they  will  have  to  shut  their  mouths." 

Selim  sat  in  silence.  His  heart  loathed 
the  cool  selfishness  of  his  cousin.  He  loved 
his  uncle,  to  whom  he  owed  his  life  when 
long  ago  his  father  would  have  killed  him  as 
a  hopeless  ass.  He  now  said  to  Osman, 
**  How  could  you  leave  your  poor  old  father 
to  come  on  alone?" 

"  Great  God !  Don't  shake  your  head 
at  me  like  a  billy  goat.  He  was  so  old  that 
he  really  could  do  nothing  wnth  the  flocks, 
and  he  got  used  to  taking  care  of  himself. 
It  was  God's  will  to  call  him.     If  not  yester- 


44  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

day,  to-morrow.  I  must  go  back  to  the 
tents." 

Selim  too  arose  to  his  feet.  As  he  turned 
towards  the  camp  he  saw  his  father  standing 
not  far  away  smiling  as  he  watched  the  busy 
milking  scene.  **  May  you  have  long  life ; 
Uncle  Kemal  Aga  is  dead/'  he  said  as  he 
joined  his  father. 

"How  did  that  happen?"  asked  Hassan 
Bey. 

"They  left  him  to  get  along  as  best  he 
could  when  they  moved  up  from  the  lower 
pasturage.  He  could  not  keep  up  and  so  he 
died.  Hemze  and  some  Hekri  clansmen 
buried  him." 

"  God  pity  his  soul !  What  were  the 
Hekri  men  doing  on  our  trail  ? " 

"  I  don't  know.  It  was  cruel  of  Osman ! 
Uncle  Kemal  was  left  behind  like  an  orphaned 
puppy." 

"  Oh,  well,  his  troubles  are  past.  He  was 
too  old  to  be  of  any  good  to  the  tribe.  But 
he  was  a  great  man  in  his  day,  and  your 
mother  loved  him  much.  We  will  make  a 
great  mourning  for  him  as  soon  as  we  can 
bring  the  mourning  women  from  Suleimaniye. 
Now  I  shall  send  one  of  the  girls  to  tell  your 
mother.     Then  I  can  go  in  to  comfort  her." 

The  inhumanity  that  justified  Osman   in 


At  Daisy  Time  45 

leaving  the  aged  man  as  a  useless  incum- 
brance filled  Selim's  heart  with  execration. 
He  climbed  the  hill  behind  the  camp,  and 
threw  himself  on  the  ground  by  a  fragrant 
clump  of  rock-roses.  His  heart  ached  for 
his  Uncle  Kemal,  sitting  on  that  old  donkey 
and  watching  his  flocks  go  by ;  for  he  must 
wait  until  the  road  was  clear  before  he  could 
venture  to  travel.  His  sons  were  caracoling 
on  fine  horses ;  the  horses  were  his,  not 
theirs.  The  sheep  and  the  goats  that 
crowded  the  way,  the  pack  train  carrying 
camp  outfit  were  all  his  property.  Yet  no 
servant  in  the  column  could  be  spared  to 
help  him.  Then  Selim  thought  of  the  poor 
old  man  alone  struggling  along  the  rough 
road  after  his  donkey  gave  out.  His  limbs 
were  racked  with  rheumatism.  But  he  must 
get  to  camp  before  he  could  rest ;  and  his 
indomitable  will  forced  the  rusty  joints  to 
bend.  By  and  by  weakness  would  overcome 
the  resolution  of  his  fierce  Kurdish  nature. 
"  Only  a  few  moments,"  he  would  say  ;  **  it  is 
not  a  shame  to  rest  a  few  moments."  And 
so  the  old  man  with  the  snow-white  beard, 
with  shaking  hands,  and  with  a  face  marked 
by  savageries  long  forgotten,  sits  by  the  way- 
side, looking  up  the  trail  now  and  then,  if 
perchance  some  one  might  appear  to  whom 


46  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

he  could  call  for  help.  Then  he  leans  to  one 
side,  crouches,  lies  prone,  his  red  and  blue 
turban  rolling  away  beyond  his  reach.  His 
son  and  his  servants  had  forgotten  him ;  so 
it  was  that  Hemze  found  him — dead. 

For  Osman,  Selim  felt  unHmited  contempt. 
He  said  to  himself,  *'  Osman  knows  neither 
Moses  nor  Jesus,  but  only  himself."  He 
thirsted  to  punish  the  fellow  in  some  way. 
But  the  whole  tribe  would  justify  dropping 
like  a  decayed  peach  the  old  man  who  is  of 
no  use.  Would  that  God  would  punish  this 
hard-hearted  selfishness.  Yet  how  could 
He  ?  Wrong-doing  does  not  bar  from  God's 
favour  one  who  does  the  regular  prayers  the 
required  number  of  times  each  day. 

By  the  clump  of  rock-roses  an  hour  was  as 
a  few  moments  to  Selim.  At  length  he  arose 
clearly  seeing  his  duty.  '*  Betterment,"  said 
he,  "  cannot  spring  from  such  people  as  ours. 
Somewhere  other  believers  must  have  re- 
ceived wisdom  from  God  to  know  how  they 
ought  to  behave.  I  cannot  stand  hesitating 
between  Try  and  Give  Up.  Somewhere  there 
must  be  those  who  will  not  think  it  wrong  for 
me  to  seek  God's  wisdom.  I  will  search 
until  I  find." 


IV 

A  CAREER  FOR  SELIM 

HASSAN  BEY,  like  a  good  many  other 
narrow  men,  was  sure  that  his  field 
of  vision  was  as  broad  as  the  uni- 
verse. This  fitted  him  to  charge  one  who 
differed  from  him  with  views  of  life  taken  by 
peeps  through  a  half-inch  slit  in  a  massive 
wall.  Being  old  and  wise  he  could  fairly 
ascribe  such  narrowness  to  his  son,  for  Selim 
was  young  and  foolish. 

The  chief  was  not  quite  free  from  the  slug- 
gishness that  avoids  discussion  which  calls 
for  alertness  of  mind.  A  child  who  is  by 
birthright  a  propounder  of  puzzles  asks  his 
father  a  great  question.  He  says,  *'When 
you  put  a  bean  in  the  ground  why  does  it 
always  grow  beans?  Why  doesn't  it  some- 
times grow  peas  or  pansies?"  The  father 
may  conscientiously  expound  the  mysteries 
of  the  transmission  of  life.  But  the  chances 
are  that  he  will  say,  ''  Because  it  can't  do 
anything  else.  Don't  ask  foolish  questions." 
This  sort  of  indolence  was  part  of  Hassan 
47 


48  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

Bey's  lack  of  sympathy  with  Selim's  habit  of 
inquiry. 

Hassan  Bey  also  believed  that  original 
thinking  fostered  mental  pride,  and  pride 
begot  headlong  obstinacy  in  action.  Such 
thinking,  that  easily  slipped  from  safe  ruts, 
should  be  restrained  as  unruly  and  dangerous. 

But  a  weightier  reason  why  the  chief 
snubbed  Selim  whenever  he  had  a  glimpse 
of  the  boy's  mind  was  the  religious  reason. 
From  Hassan  Bey's  point  of  view  Mohammed 
was  sent  from  God  to  give  men  the  essence 
of  all  the  truths  ever  spoken.  The  problems 
of  life,  simple  or  complex,  can  be  solved  by 
Mohammed  alone.  Proper  topics  for  thought 
and  discussion  are  those  presented  in  the 
Koran  and  the  comments  of  its  earliest  in- 
terpreters. If  an  idea  is  not  dealt  with  by 
Mohammed,  it  would  be  blasphemy  to  infer 
that  his  mind  did  not  canvass  it.  The  reason 
lies  in  the  idea  itself ;  it  was  harmful,  or  at 
best  useless.  The  Koran  and  its  inspired 
commentators  have  fixed  for  all  time  the  an- 
swer to  every  candid  question. 

An  average  man,  pressing  a  claim  before 
a  judge,  would  be  paralyzed  by  a  request  to 
name  in  detail  the  laws  on  which  his  claim  is 
based.  On  the  same  principle  the  Muslim 
who  discusses  any  theme  whatever  encoun- 


A  Career  For  Selim  49 

ters  deaf  ears  unless  he  quotes  the  actual 
words  of  the  Koran  that  authorize  his  con- 
tention. Selim  could  bring  no  quotation 
from  the  Koran  to  justify  his  restless  desire 
to  learn  more  than  was  taught  by  his  natural 
tutors.  For  this  reason  also  his  father  was 
bound  to  extirpate  his  son's  free-thinking 
habit. 

One  evening  after  the  end  of  the  Ramazan 
fast  Hassan  Bey  summoned  the  young  man 
to  the  reception-room  of  the  great  tent.  A 
rigid  discipline  had  taught  Selim  the  be- 
haviour expected  of  him  in  that  place.  Ac- 
cordingly he  took  a  posture  of  deep  respect 
on  the  rich  rug  before  the  old  chief.  This 
posture  is  quite  impossible  to  a  person  of 
Western  habits.  It  involves  the  strange  feat 
of  kneeling  and  sitting  on  one's  heels  at  the 
same  time. 

After  formal  salutations,  Hassan  Bey  said 
in  a  grave  but  kindly  tone : 

"My  lamb,  I  am  told  that  after  Mulla 
Mehmed  had  preached  the  other  day  upon 
the  mansions  of  Paradise  you  were  heard  to 
say  that  you  would  not  care  to  live  in  such  a 
place.  They  call  you  a  Free-thinker  and 
expect  novelties  from  you,  but  such  words 
scandalize  the  faithful.  Did  you  say  this 
thing,  or  is  the  story  old  wives'  talk?" 


50  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

"  Father,  did  you  hear  what  Mulla  Mehmed 
said  about  the  mansions  of  Paradise?" 

''This  is  not  a  matter  of  *  He  said  this/ 
and  'The  other  said  that,'  like  a  shepherd's 
evening  yarn.  Did  you  say  this  thing  which 
has  set  the  Mikaeli  clan  on  fire  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  what  I  said.  Mulla  Mehmed 
described  the  tree  of  life  which  grows  in  Para- 
dise and  every  month  bears  all  manner  of 
fruit.     His  words  made  one's  mouth  water." 

"  Good  for  you,  Selim !  I  swore  you  did 
not  say  it." 

"  Let  me  finish  with  Mulla  Mehmed.  He 
then  went  on  to  explain  the  bigness  of  the 
tree,  since  every  one  in  Paradise  has  a  right 
to  eat  from  it.  He  said  that  the  length  of 
each  leaf  is  a  day's  journey  and  the  shade  of 
the  tree  is  refreshing  as  a  mountain  snow  pit 
in  hot  summer.  By  and  by  he  got  around 
to  speaking  of  the  mansions  of  the  blest  of 
which  we  shall  each  have  one.  According 
to  him,  the  water  of  life  flows  through  every 
room.  In  every  mansion  is  a  bough  of  the 
tree  of  life  with  abundance  of  fruit  for  every 
taste.  When  the  old  Mulla  said  that,  I 
whispered  to  Suleiman  at  my  side,  '  The 
bough  that  enters  each  mansion  must  have 
at  least  two  or  three  leaves,  each  of  them  as 
long  as  a  day's  journey  !     I  would  rather  live 


Hassan  Bey  and  Suleiman 


A  Career  For  Selim  51 

outdoors  ! '  Suleiman  gave  that  queer  snor- 
ing snort  by  which  the  black  dervish  from  the 
Soudan  used  to  show  that  he  was  displeased. 
When  the  idea  soaked  in,  he  laughed  to  split. 
Of  course  he  had  to  tell  every  one  who  asked 
what  he  was  laughing  at,  and  so  I  slipped 
away.  You  would  have  felt  just  as  I  did,  fa- 
ther," 

Hassan  Bey  coughed  rather  convulsively. 
"  Well,"  he  said,  *'  the  MuUa  has  to  talk  that 
way  for  the  common  people.  Their  skulls 
are  so  thick  that  one  needs  a  club  to  get  an 
idea  into  their  heads.  The  leaves  as  long  as 
a  day's  journey  are  the  club  that  drives  into 
their  heads  some  notion  of  the  wonders  of 
Paradise.  You  who  have  holes  in  your  ears 
do  not  need  such  help." 

''  When  a  man  is  preaching,"  said  Selim, 
**  he  ought  not  to  say  things  without  root  or 
branch.  He  ought  to  tell  people  things  that 
will  help  them,  not  how  big  he  thinks  the  tree 
of  life  must  be  since  it  has  to  supply  all  crea- 
tion." 

"  The  preacher's  wisdom  is  not  very  great," 
answered  the  chief.  **  It  does  not  flow,  but 
it  drops,  and  that  is  something.  You  have  a 
box  full  of  questions.  What  I  say  is.  Don't 
open  the  box.  You  will  have  bad  things  said, 
and  somebody  may  put  a  melon  rind  under 


52  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

your  foot.  Don't  worry  about  these  things. 
However  crooked  the  chimney  the  smoke 
comes  out  straight." 

"  I  am  not  worrying,"  said  Selim.  '*  I  am 
only  troubled  because  people  blame  me  for 
wanting  to  learn  the  science  of  living.  One 
does  little  things  carelessly  which  by  and  by 
turn  out  to  be  big  things  and  wrong.  I  want 
to  grow  to  be  a  manly  man,  too  well  taught 
to  fall  into  such  mistakes." 

"  Have  you  not  had  me  to  teach  you  ?  Be 
strong,  be  manly.  That  is  all  there  is  to  it. 
I  want  every  Kurd  to  tremble  when  you 
look  at  him.  Watch  over  the  growth  of  the 
flocks ;  use  your  mind  to  keep  hold  of  the 
pasturage  and  the  trail  that  belongs  to  our 
clan,  and  to  get  as  much  more  as  you  can. 
But  do  not  meddle  with  religion.  That  is 
fixed  by  the  words  and  the  conduct  of  the 
prophet  whose  name  be  glorified.  To  med- 
dle with  religion  is  to  weaken  its  hold  on  the 
people,  and  to  help  on  the  corruption  that 
seeps  into  human  nature  as  more  and  more 
years  separate  us  from  the  blessed  time  of 
the  prophet's  life." 

'*  Yes,  I  know  that,"  admitted  Selim,  '*  but 
what  I  want  is  to  learn  how  to  be  rid  of  my 
bad  habits,  and  which  habits  are  bad." 

"  You    know,   Selim,"    said    Hassan   Bey 


A  Career  For  Selim  53 

earnestly,  "  that  I  do  not  want  you  to  be  like 
a  donkey's  tail,  which  grows  neither  longer 
nor  shorter.  But  as  to  habits,  every  man  is 
as  God  made  him.  Even  a  man  who  is  like 
a  horse-fly  that  lives  under  the  tail  has  his 
habits  in  his  blood  ;  until  life  leaves  the 
blood  the  habits  cannot  get  out  of  the  body. 
The  rules  of  the  prophet  are  to  be  carefully 
kept — how  to  declare  your  belief  in  God, 
how  to  wash  your  face  and  hands  and  feet, 
how  to  brush  your  teeth,  how  to  worship, 
how  to  keep  the  fast,  and  all  the  rest.  God 
is  boundless  in  compassion  to  all  who  keep 
these  rules.  It  is  impossible  to  be  better  than 
this.  You  must  not  rebuke  God  for  making 
you  what  you  are.  You  would  not  really 
wish  to  learn  to  be  like  those  Christians  from 
Europe  who  shrink  from  being  seen  at 
prayer,  who  try  to  hide  their  faces  from  the 
Almighty  by  putting  brims  to  their  hats,  and 
who  wear  shamelessly  tight  clothes  ?  " 

*'  Certainly  not,*'  agreed  Selim.  "  But  why 
does  worshipping  God  always  make  me  feel 
mean?  How  can  one  escape  from  feeling 
mean  unless  he  knows  how  God  wants  him  to 
act  after  he  has  worshipped?  The  burden 
on  my  heart  is  to  know  this." 

''  Selim,"  said  his  father  sharply,  '*  the 
novelties  in  your  mind  are   from  the   devil. 


54  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

All  ideas  that  can  properly  spin  around  in  the 
minds  of  Muslims,  the  fathers  have  sifted  out 
and  have  put  in  their  books  of  precious  pearls 
of  thought.  Take  them  and  be  thankful  that 
God  has  shown  you  so  easy  a  religion.  If 
you  persist  in  thinking  other  thoughts,  my 
opposition  will  always  rise  before  you  like  a 
w^all.  Leave  your  waywardness,  and  accept 
what  is  taught  you,  and  be  at  peace  as  I  am." 

*'  Father,"  replied  Selim,  *'I  do  accept  what 
is  taught  me.  Nothing  comes  down  from 
heaven  that  the  earth  will  not  receive.  But 
there  must  be  more  for  me  to  learn." 

**  Enough  of  that !  I  did  hope  when  you 
went  to  the  seminary  that  you  would  come 
out  a  master  of  the  Holy  Law  with  a  turban 
as  big  as  a  bushel.  But  you  have  got  mixed 
on  the  points  of  the  compass  and  your  tongue 
wags  too  much.  The  clan  will  not  respect 
you  until  you  have  done  something  more  than 
dream.  1  have  decided  to  send  you  to  Persia 
to  our  cousin  Ben  Shammar  of  the  Keshkivend 
clan.  He  will  teach  your  eye  to  see  and  your 
hand  to  hold,  and  will  not  leave  you  time  for 
fretting  your  soul." 

Selim's  face  grew  pale  **  Ben  Shammar," 
he  said,  **  is  cruel  as  a  tiger.  When  he  was 
here  last  summer  he  told  me  about  the  raid 
upon  that  village  near  Yezd  for  which  the 


A  Career  For  Selim  ^^ 

Persians  tried  to  arrest  him.  With  three  hun- 
dred horsemen  he  dashed  into  the  village  like 
a  cloud-burst  when  everybody  was  asleep. 
They  killed  two  or  three  who  tried  to  resist, 
beat  others  black  and  blue  to  keep  them  quiet, 
thrust  aside  the  shrieking  women  and  squall- 
ing children,  and  then  carried  off  everything 
worth  taking  except  the  girls,  whom  they  left 
only  because  their  beasts  were  loaded  with 
more  valuable  loot.  Ben  Shammar  was 
proud  of  the  raid,  although  he  had  to  give 
nearly  half  of  what  he  got  to  the  Persian  of- 
ficials who  shut  their  eyes  and  their  ears  until 
he  could  get  away.  I  asked  Ben  Shammar 
whether  he  does  not  fear  God.  He  looked  at 
me  for  a  moment  with  fiery  eyes.  Then  he 
calmed  down  and  said,  '  Of  course  I  fear  God. 
It  is  by  His  favour  that  I  succeed.'  I  said, 
'  Perhaps  God's  favour  would  help  you  suc- 
ceed in  some  other  trade,'  but  Ben  Shammar 
answered,  *  I  cannot  take  another  trade. 
This  is  our  heritage.'  No,  father,"  continued 
Selim,  **  do  not  ask  me  to  become  a  robber." 
Hassan  Bey  was  one  of  those  men  whose 
gauge  of  right  is  largely  fixed  in  a  domineer- 
ing will.  Was  he  not  head  of  his  house,  and 
chief  of  his  clan  ?  So  when  Selim  said,  "  Do 
not  ask  me  to  become  a  robber,"  he  struck  a 
blow  at  that  iron  will     A  change  came  over 


56  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

the  father's  face  which  startled  the  son.  The 
cheeks  were  red,  the  eyes  glaring,  the  lips 
rigid  but  showing  the  teeth  clenched  behind 
them.  More  startling  to  the  young  man, 
however,  than  that  angry  face  was  the  even, 
controlled  tone  in  which  Hassan  Bey  spoke. 
"  Selim,"  he  said,  *'  it  is  I  who  have  laboured 
by  day  and  by  night  to  make  a  man  of  you. 
It  has  taken  many  ovenfuls  of  bread  to  bring 
you  to  what  you  are  ;  you  shall  now  do  as  I 
say.  When  we  move  to  the  plains  for  the 
winter  you  shall  not  go  with  us.  You  shall 
go  to  Ben  Shammar  and  learn  the  trade  of 
the  Keshkivend  clan.  Better  be  killed  by 
the  Persians  like  a  man,  rifle  in  hand,  than 
be  butchered  like  a  sheep  by  your  clansmen 
for  scoffing  at  religion.     Now  leave  me." 

Selim  arose  without  a  word  and,  Oriental 
fashion,  bowed  profoundly  as  he  moved 
backward  out  of  the  tent.  He  went  in  by 
the  side  door  to  the  little  room  partitioned 
ofi  for  his  bed.  Throwing  himself  down  he 
tried  to  measure  the  crisis  before  him.  His 
father's  command  Was  laid  upon  him  in  the 
name  of  religion.  But  he  could  not  obey  the 
command  to  join  Ben  Shammar's  band  of 
robber  Kurds.  He  did  not  blame  his  father 
who  did  not  understand  him,  much  less  did 
he  find  fault  with  the  religion  of  Islam.     No 


A  Career  For  Selim  57 

more  did  Luther  find  fault  with  Christianity 
when  he  began  his  revolt  against  some  of  the 
Roman  clergy.  The  point  in  this  case  was 
that  Muslim  teachers  seemed  not  to  know 
religion  fully.  Selim' s  purpose  to  seek  light 
clashed  with  his  father's  determination  that 
he  should  not.  Hence  unless  he  made  abject 
submission  he  must  leave  the  camp  as  a  rebel 
and  an  outcast. 

Selim  thought  of  appealing  to  his  mother 
as  mediator.  She  would  sympathize  with 
him  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  she  would  urge 
him  not  to  venture  to  refuse  obedience  to  the 
chief.  It  was  long  after  all  in  the  tent  were 
asleep  that  the  young  man  perceived  that 
these  terrible  questions  could  wait  until  the 
time  approached  for  breaking  camp  for  the 
winter.  "My  affairs  now  rest  with  God 
alone,"  he  said.  So  he  laid  his  trouble  down 
for  a  few  moments  at  least,  when  he  prayed, 
"  Lord,  Thou  knowest  I  do  not  scoff  at  re- 
ligion. I  believe  in  Thee  and  in  Mohammed 
whom  Thou  hast  sent.  Guide  me  in  the 
straight  way,  the  way  of  those  to  whom 
Thou  art  gracious." 


V 

SELIM  WINS 

SELIM'S  impulse  to  ask  his  mother  to 
help  him  in  the  contest  of  will  with  Has- 
san Bey  was  a  fruit  of  observation  and 
experience.  Mohammedan  women  lack  many 
characteristics  which  make  women  in  Western 
lands  interesting  and  influential.  They  live 
in  veiled  isolation  while  men  direct  the  uni- 
verse ;  they  shamelessly  admit  that  woman's 
brain  is  feeble  ;  they  are  ignorant  of  every- 
thing outside  of  their  little  circle ;  they  are 
stupid  (though  not  more  so  than  some  of  our 
humorous  writers  would  fain  prove  their 
own  lady  friends  to  be  in  business  matters), 
and  they  are  narrow-minded  and  bigoted  to 
the  last  degree.  Nevertheless,  they  find 
means  of  absorbing  the  attention  and  con- 
trolling the  services  of  the  men.  A  girl  of 
fifteen  may  fail  to  rule  a  husband  of  fifty. 
But  in  mature  life  the  Mohammedan  woman 
is  as  she  commonly  appears  in  Oriental 
literature,  as  full  of  strategy  as  a  generalis- 
simo. Among  the  Kurdish  Mohammedans 
58 


Selim  Wins  59 

an  elderly  lady  commonly  directs  her  own 
life  and  that  of  her  husband  as  well,  because 
she  is  worthy  and  is  truly  interesting. 

Such  was  Fatima,  the  first  of  the  Kurdish 
chief's  three  wives  and  the  noble-born  mother 
of  Selim.  Full  of  dignity  and  pride  of  birth, 
she  was  also  quite  the  equal  in  tact  and  re- 
source of  that  astute  and  hard-hearted  poli- 
tician, Hassan  Bey.  Moreover,  her  motherly 
heart  was  for  her  son  a  throne-room. 

After  Hassan  Bey  had  dismissed  Selim  to 
bitter  reflections  upon  his  decree  of  banish- 
ment, he  quickly  carried  the  news  of  the 
crisis  to  Fatima.  She  asked  in  amazement, 
"  What  has  Selim  done  that  you  should  send 
him  to  live  among  those  pigs  of  Persians  ?  " 

**  The  good  that  he  does  to  us,"  replied  the 
chief,  "  is  not  worth  the  frogs  that  he  scares 
away.  He  is  saying  things  about  religion 
that  will  not  go  down  with  our  people.  His 
ideas  show  discontent  with  our  ways,  our 
worship,  and  the  belief  fixed  forever  by  our 
glorious  prophet.  He  wants  us  to  improve 
ourselves ;  and  he  will  not  submit  to  my 
direction.  He  thinks  night  and  day.  Think- 
ing to  him  is  what  chewing  the  cud  is  to  a 
cow ;  he  is  so  full  of  ideas  that  soon  his  skin 
won't  hold  him.  To  make  him  change  is 
like-  making  a   camel    jump   a  ditch.     We 


6o  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

have  got  to  tie  a  stone  to  his  feet  to  balance 
his  head." 

Fatima  heard,  but  she  sat  musing  in 
silence.  At  last,  as  the  chief  began  to  think 
her  silence  ominous,  she  said,  "If  we  were  to 
get  him  a  nice  girl  she  would  stop  all  that  far 
more  surely  than  Ben  Shammar  can." 

Hassan  Bey  stared  at  his  wife.  "  I  never 
thought  of  that,"  he  said  ;  "  you  are  wise  as 
a  serpent.  You  have  found  the  way  out. 
If  you  say  so,  I'll  crawl  into  a  filbert  shell. 
Yes,  a  girl  is  the  medicine  for  Selim's  distress 
about  being  good.  But  you  must  make  him 
take  the  dose." 

The  next  morning  Selim  came  in  from  a 
tramp  to  the  woods  to  see  about  trapping 
red-legged  partridges.  He  brought  his 
mother  a  large  bunch  of  cyclamen. 

Fatima  said  to  him,  **  Selim,  you  are  as 
dear  to  me  as  my  two  eyes." 

*'Ah,  mother,  that  is  the  hardest  part  of 
going  away." 

"  The  chief  told  me  that  he  thinks  of  sending 
you  to  the  Keshkivend  clan  in  Persia,  because 
our  clansmen  here  are  already  discussing 
whether  you  really  believe  in  religion.  An 
ignorant  bigot  is  Satan's  toy.  What  the 
chief  fears  is  that  some  day  such  a  bigot  from 
another  clan  may  feel  it  his  duty  to  kill  you. 


Selim  Wins  61 

Do  you  really  dislike  the  observances  so 
much  that  you  have  lost  the  check  off  your 
tongue  ?" 

*'  God  forbid  !  No,  mother,  I  worship  five 
times  a  day ;  I  make  up  in  full  measure  all 
the  rounds  that  I  ever  miss  ;  I  do  a  round 
or  two  of  worship  in  the  night  sometimes 
to  make  sure ;  I  fast  more  than  is  required  ; 
I  give  alms,  and  I  hope  some  day  to  do  the 
pilgrimage.  There  is  no  god  but  God  and 
Mohammed  is  the  prophet  of  God !  All 
these  things  I  have  done  from  childhood,  as 
you  know.  If  there  is  anything  else,  praise 
God  I  am  ready  to  do  that  too. 

**  What  troubles  me  is  that  nothing  comes 
of  it  all.  I  want  to  do  right  but  I  can't.  I 
tell  lies,  and  I  cheat,  and  I  get  angry  enough 
to  kill,  and  then  I  say  things  so  filthy  that  I 
have  to  drink  a  quart  of  water  to  get  rid  of 
the  taste.  Everybody  says  these  things  are 
wrong,  but  still  does  them.  The  excuse  they 
give  is  that  in  such  a  world  as  ours  nothing 
else  can  be  done.  Here  is  Osman  who  would 
spend  a  whole  night  searching  for  one  lost 
sheep,  but  leaves  his  own  father  to  die  alone 
on  the  road  and  does  not  care.  In  our  camp 
our  people  are  always  awake  to  pilfer  or  to 
hire  some  one  to  rob  some  other  camp  for 
them.     Even  father  wants  me  to  take  night 


62  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

robbery  for  a  trade,  that  I  may  be  rich.  Of 
course  God  does  not  want  such  things  to  be 
done.  There  must  be  somebody  somewhere 
who  can  teach  me  just  what  God  does  want 
and  how  to  do  it.  But  this  place  is  a  place 
of  *  Don't  do  and  Don't  find.'  " 

**  Don't  worry  about  little  things,  my  son. 
By  looks  and  repute  you  are  a  man  and  the 
son  of  a  man.  You  are  too  much  alone  ;  so 
you  find  much  to  fret  about.  The  men  who 
have  their  own  tents  are  comfortable.  The 
reason  is  they  are  not  alone.  The  chief  is 
sorry  he  said  you  must  go  to  Ben  Shammar's 
tribe.  He  said  to  me,  *  We  can  escape  this 
trouble  if  we  make  Selim  comfortable.'  You 
would  like  that,  wouldn't  you,  my  heart's 
delight  ?  " 

**  I  shall  be  glad  not  to  have  to  go  to 
Persia.  They  say  man  is  a  creature  that 
climbs.  I  shall  be  comfortable  when  I  find  a 
way  to  get  up  and  up  and  up." 

''  Well,  listen  !  The  chief  said,  '  We  might 
find  Selim  a  girl,'  he  said.  You  see  he  does 
not  want  you  to  go  any  more  than  I  do.  *  A 
young,  crisp  and  tender  girl  would  do  him 
good,'  he  said.  '  Let's  do  it,'  he  said.  You 
would  like  that,  wouldn't  you,  my  wild  lion  ? 
I  will  pick  one  out  for  you,  with  a  face  beauti- 
ful as  the  fifteen  day  moon,  eyes  like  a  moun- 


Selim  Wins  63 

tain  lake,  cheeks  like  new  carnations,  a  body 
like  silver,  and  the  spot  behind  the  ears  snow 
white.  With  such  a  girl  you  could  content 
yourself  to  stay  with  the  clan — and  with  your 
old  mother?" 

Selim  instantly  saw  before  his  eyes  the 
girl  whom  he  would  like  his  mother  to 
choose  for  him.  She  was  Ayesha  of  the 
Hekri  clan,  whom  he  had  seen  two  years 
before  near  Suleimaniye  when  he  was  getting 
oak  galls  in  the  woods  to  sell  for  relish-money 
to  help  his  dry  bread  go  down.  She  was  a 
shyl}'-  smiling  girl  of  twelve  or  thirteen  stand- 
ing on  the  grassy  bank  of  a  brook,  hesitating 
while  her  father,  holding  a  loaded  donkey  on 
the  other  side,  was  calling  to  her  to  come 
across  on  the  stepping-stones.  Her  distress 
was  so  real  that  Selim  took  her  up  in  his 
arms  and  carried  her  to  the  other  side.  She 
said  not  a  word,  her  father  making  all  need- 
ful acknowledgments.  But  her  fiery  cheeks, 
the  light  in  her  eyes  and  the  smile  on  her 
lips  as  Selim  ran  back  to  his  own  side  of  the 
stream  were  things  to  remember. 

Selim  did  not  know,  and  his  mother  did 
not  perceive  clearly,  the  elements  of  the  plan 
presented  to  him.  What  Fatima  proposed 
was  to  occupy  her  son's  mind  with  something 
that   would  smother  aspiration,  leaving  his 


64  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

soul  to  starve,  content  with  the  current  form 
of  godliness.  As  for  Selim,  he  recalled  the 
proverb  "  At  fifteen  a  girl  should  be  married 
or  buried." — Little  Ayesha  was  now  mar- 
riageable. But  to  marry  would  be  to  turn 
aside  from  his  quest.     So  he  said  : 

'*  Mother,  1  wish  you  could  look  into  my 
heart  and  see  it  throb  when  you  plan  happi- 
ness for  me.  You  always  make  me  happy. 
But  the  time  for  me  to  marry  has  not  come. 
First  I  must  learn  to  be  a  man.  Something 
within  me  pricks  my  heart  if  I  begin  to  for- 
get. If  father  will  let  me  go  back  to  the 
seminary  at  Suleimaniye,  perhaps  I  may  find 
some  one  there  who  can  teach  me." 

''Yes,"  said  his  mother,  "they  will  teach 
you  to  sit  in  a  corner  and  think  ;  they  will 
make  you  think  of  yourself,  whether  you 
possibly  stepped  on  an  ant  when  you  w  alked, 
or  killed  a  weed  that  God  planted,  or  cracked 
a  rock  that  God  intended  to  stay  uncracked 
till  the  judgment  day.  They  will  make  you 
fast  until  you  can't  laugh  because  you  have 
become  a  skeleton  with  two  bones  for  legs. 
You  will  not  be  my  Selim  but  the  Suleimaniye 
Sheikh's  Selim — like  nothing  on  earth  but  a 
dry  tree ! " 

**  Mother,  I  will  be  your  Selim  wherever  I 
go.     But  I   must   find  a  guide  to  teach  me 


Selim  Wins  65 

how  to  get  near  to  God.  When  I  find  out 
what  God  wants  of  me  I  shall  do  it ;  and  I 
shall  be  happy  wherever  you  are.  Until  I 
find  a  perfect  guide  to  the  knowledge  of  God 
I  cannot  rest." 

''  You  break  my  heart,  Selim.  I  am  sure 
that  a  girl  would  be  better  than  a  guide  for 
you.  But  you  were  always  stubborn  in 
wanting  your  own  way.  If  you  want  a 
guide,  why  not  go  to  Sheikh  Abdullah,  the 
head  of  the  seminary  at  Kerkuk.  They  call 
him  a  perfect  guide  to  the  knowledge  of  God. 
He  is  not  like  the  Suleimaniye  Sheikh,  but  is 
fat  and  jolly.  He  is  a  great  man  among  the 
Nakishbendi  Dervishes,  who  do  great  won- 
ders, they  say,  through  the  knowledge  of 
God.  If  you  really  wish  it,  I  am  sure  I  can 
coax  your  father  to  let  you  go  to  Kerkuk. 
The  Sheikh  is  sister's  son  to  my  mother  and 
will  care  for  you  for  my  sake." 

So  Fatima's  strategy  turned  aside  the  dan- 
ger of  losing  her  son  through  Hassan  Bey's 
hasty  decision  to  send  him  to  Persia.  With 
this  partial  success  she  was  satisfied.  Hassan 
Bey  was  vaguely  conscious  that  his  wife's 
compromise  had  somehow  checkmated  him. 
Nevertheless,  he  reflected  that  at  Kerkuk 
Selim  would  be  led  into  the  Nakishbendi 
order  of  dervishes,  and  that  would  assure  his 


66  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

respectability  by  permanently  ending  his 
free-thinking.  Hence  like  any  other  good 
husband  in  similar  circumstances  he  decided 
to  be  satisfied.  As  for  Selim,  some  perfect 
guide  to  the  knowledge  of  God  was  all  that 
he  wished.  He  wondered  that  the  remedy 
for  his  troubles  was  so  simple  and  easy  ;  but 
he  too  was  satisfied  ;  and  calm  reigned  in  the 
six-poled  tent. 

A  few  weeks  later  Selim  kissed  his  mother, 
kissed  his  father's  hand  and  received  his 
blessing.  Then  with  Suleiman  for  his  com- 
panion, he  rode  away  from  the  camp  on  the 
plateau. 

Selim  and  Suleiman  were  cordially  met  at 
the  gate  of  the  seminary  by  a  student.  He 
asked  no  questions,  led  them  to  a  clean  little 
room  with  a  grape-vine  trained  over  an  arbour 
about  the  door,  and  bade  them  make  them- 
selves at  home.  When  SeHm's  simple  be- 
longings had  been  laid  in  order  and  his  rug 
spread  on  the  floor,  the  student  brought  in  a 
porous  earthen  jug  full  of  water.  Then  once 
more  assuring  the  visitors  of  their  welcome 
he  left  them  to  use  the  room  as  their  own. 
After  Suleiman  had  taken  the  horses  to  a 
khan  near  by,  and  had  grumbled  with  his 
snoring  snort  at  the  poor  accommodations, 
the  two  men  chatted  at  ease  until  the  student 


Selim  Wins  67 

returned  with  a  wooden  tray  loaded  with 
good  but  plain  food.  Politely  wishing  them 
a  good  appetite,  he  left  them  once  more  to 
themselves.  It  might  disturb  the  tranquillity 
of  a  newly  arrived  guest  to  ask  his  name  or 
his  business.  The  chief  token  of  the  welcome 
ready  for  unknown  travellers  in  those  regions 
is  the  pains  taken  to  offer  them  unvexed  rest 

Towards  evening  Suleiman  went  away. 
He  was  a  man  of  few  words,  but  he  was  de- 
voted to  Selim,  whom  he  had  cared  for  from 
his  first  walk  abroad.  In  parting  from  him 
now  he  gave  the  young  man  a  bit  of  advice. 
"  I  like  this  place,"  he  said,  '*  and  the  people 
seem  well-meaning.  Yet  one  can  never  be 
too  careful  about  trusting  to  appearances. 
Keep  your  eyes  open,  and  bear  in  mind  the 
safe  rule  :  When  hunting  do  not  give  thanks 
until  you  have  eaten  up  the  woodcock." 

Selim  loaded  him  with  messages  for  the 
lady  Fatima,  for  the  chief,  and  for  others  in 
the  camp.  Long  before  daybreak  the  old 
Kurd  would  set  out  on  his  journey  back  to 
the  tents.  It  was  only  when  Suleiman  was 
going  out  of  the  courtyard  that  a  student 
asked  him  if  he  had  travelled  far  that  day, 
and  thus  unobtrusively  learned  the  name  and 
fame  of  Selim  and  his  wish  to  become  a  stu- 
dent in  the  seminary. 


68  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

Until  Selim  was  pleased  to  open  the  sub- 
ject himself  the  next  day,  nothing  was  said  to 
him  about  his  purpose.  When  he  asked  if 
he  could  pay  his  respects  to  Sheikh  Abdullah 
he  was  taken  to  the  genial  old  man,  and  was 
warmly  greeted  as  a  kinsman.  Sheikh  Ab- 
dullah seemed  sincere  in  his  expressions  of 
pleasure  at  this  addition  to  the  corps  of  stu- 
dents. **  You  will  be  a  son  to  me,"  he  said, 
"  and  will  make  my  rooms  your  home." 

Selim  recognized  this  as  a  high  honour. 
It  was  the  first  sweet  fruits  of  his  hard  won 
liberty  to  follow  his  bent.  It  would  involve 
sweeping  the  rooms  and  acting  as  a  sort  of 
valet  to  the  great  man  ;  but  it  would  include 
an  intimacy  that  he  felt  to  be  precious,  since 
the  Sheikh  was  very  holy.  He  moved  his 
light  baggage  into  the  cell  on  the  cloistered 
court  which  was  assigned  to  him  and  thanked 
God  that  he  had  been  allowed  to  become  a 
student  in  the  seminary  at  Kerkuk,  when  he 
had  expected  to  be  an  outcast  from  the  pla- 
teau of  the  Kurd's  Bed. 


VI 

THE  NAKISHBENDI  DERVISHES 

IN  every  land  different  ways  of  attaining 
knowledge  of  God  commend  themselves 
to  groping  seekers.  So  it  comes  to  pass 
that  there  are  many  "  ways "  among  the 
dervishes.  Some  of  them  choose  the  ascetic 
path,  trying  to  silence  the  clamours  of  the 
flesh  by  main  force.  Some  would  shut  out 
the  world  during  their  spiritual  exercises  by 
whirling  like  tops.  Some,  it  is  said,  use 
liquor  or  drugs  when  the  weekly  assemblage 
brings  them  together  to  satisfy  the  soul's 
craving  for  God.  Some  work  themselves 
into  a  frenzy,  shouting  the  words  La  illaha 
iV  Allah  (There  is  no  god  but  God)  until  the 
words  become  inarticulate  howls  or  grunts 
and  the  howlers  lose  consciousness  in  the 
overwhelming  presence  of  the  Almighty. 

Whatever  the  means  used  each  order  of 
dervishes  seeks  a  vacuum  of  the  mind  which 
they  call  annihilation  of  self,  that  the  soul 
may  feel  the  ecstasy  of  God's  presence. 

The  Nakishbendi  Dervishes  seek  God  in 
silence.  During  their  strenuous  mental  ex- 
69 


JO  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

ercises  vivid  colours  appear  before  their 
closed  eyes,  symbolizing  harmony  of  the  body 
with  the  divine  being.  Their  name  "  Painter 
Dervishes  "  emphasizes  the  importance  which 
they  give  to  these  colours. 

Selim  was  a  Mohammedan  just  as  he  was 
a  Kurd.  He  was  born  so.  He  believed  in 
the  religion  heartily ;  he  felt  the  truth  in  its 
conception  of  God,  and  as  all  religious  men, 
so  far  as  he  knew,  are  ready  to  die  for  their 
faith,  and  to  kill  any  one  who  blasphemes 
God  by  blatant  belief  in  any  teacher  other 
than  Mohammed,  he,  too,  was  ready  to  fight 
for  his  faith.  But  the  people  whom  he  met, 
while  eager  to  kill  or  be  killed  for  the  faith, 
were  listless  in  trying  to  be  what  the  people 
of  God  should  be  in  the  commonplace  every- 
day life.  He  was  sure  that  to  know  more 
about  God  would  calm  his  impatience  of  evil. 
So  he  petitioned  to  be  received  as  a  novice 
into  the  Nakishbendi  Order. 

Sheikh  Abdullah  replied,  "  This  is  a  very 
great  undertaking.  Think  well  first,  for  it 
leads  to  annihilation.  Expect  and  ask  guid- 
ance by  a  dream.  I  also  will  await  a  dream. 
Then  we  shall  know  whether  it  is  well  for 
you  to  join  the  Painter  Dervishes." 

Such  a  test  aroused  curiosity  ;  but  intense 
curiosity  nearly  drove  away   sleep,  without 


The  Nakishbendi  Dervishes  7 1 

which  there  are  no  supernatural  dreams.  At 
last  Selim  dozed  and  dreamed.  A  benign 
old  man  dressed  in  a  quilted  jacket,  and 
wearing  a  great  turban,  sat  on  a  sheepskin 
on  the  floor  of  a  spacious  room.  Before  this 
venerable  personage  Selim  did  reverence, 
whereupon  the  old  man  motioned  him  to  sit 
by  his  side  on  the  sheepskin.  Then  Selim 
awoke  in  abiding  joy. 

Sheikh  Abdullah  too  dreamed.  He  said 
to  Selim,  **  I  dreamed  that  I  saw  a  Sheikh 
sitting  in  a  circle  of  dervishes.  As  I  looked, 
behold  the  Sheikh  was  none  other  than  your- 
self !  We  may  take  up  this  blessed  course 
together.  God,"  continued  the  Sheikh,  **is 
the  natural  refuge  for  the  soul  of  man.  The 
soul  comes  from  God.  To  know  God  is  the 
one  thing  desirable  in  life.  The  abilities  of 
man  are  many ;  the  ways  in  which  he  can 
seek  knowledge  of  God  are  many.  But  all 
sincere  seekers  are  brethren,  for  all  the  ways 
in  which  they  walk  lead  to  God." 

Sheikh  Abdullah  then  knelt  on  one  of  the 
sheepskins  on  the  floor  and  had  Selim  kneel 
on  another  facing  him,  his  knees  touching 
the  Sheikh's  knees.  "  Now,"  said  he,  **  think 
of  one  thing  only ;  put  away  all  other 
thoughts,  and  think  of  my  heart.  At  the 
same  time  I  will  fix  my  thoughts  on  your 


72  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

heart."  So  the  Sheikh  bent  forward  touch- 
ing his  forehead  to  Selim's  forehead.  They 
remained  silent  in  that  position  for  ten  min- 
utes or  more.  Selim  trembled  ;  his  efTort  was 
great  to  fix  his  thoughts  on  the  heart  of  the 
Sheikh,  but  he  fancied  that  he  could  feel  the 
pressure,  warm  and  vigorous,  of  the  Sheikh's 
thought  on  his  brain.  Sweat  poured  from 
every  pore  of  his  body. 

After  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  the  Sheikh 
raised  his  head  from  its  contact  with  Selim. 
Then  he  took  Selim's  right  hand  in  his  and 
said,  **  These  be  the  words  of  the  covenant  of 
the  brethren :  You  will  perform  the  ablutions 
prescribed  by  the  Koran ;  you  will  do  the 
regular  services  of  worship  daily ;  you  will 
make  good  past  neglect  in  worship  or  in 
fasts ;  you  will  refrain  from  falsehood,  from 
tale-bearing  or  calumny  ;  you  will  hold  malice 
towards  none,  and  you  will  pray  for  forgive- 
ness of  sin  in  the  name  of  Mohammed  the 
great  mediator  of  the  last  day.  You  have 
chosen  me  to  be  your  guide,  and  you  will 
obey  without  question  every  command  that  I 
give.     Do  you  covenant  to  do  these  things  ?  " 

In  sheer  joy  at  having  at  last  found  a  per- 
fect guide,  Selim  said,  **  Amen." 

*•  Now,  my  son,"  said  the  Sheikh,  *'  you 
have  joined  our  order  as  a  novice.     It  is  for 


The  Nakishbendi  Dervishes  73 

you  daily  to  go  forward.  I  am  to  lead  you  ; 
your  being  is  to  become  annihilated  in  mine. 
Every  day  you  must  work  to  this  end.  Se- 
lect a  convenient  time  and  a  private  place. 
Having  done  the  ablutions,  kneel  facing 
Mecca,  pray  God  to  forgive  your  sins,  and 
then  during  half  an  hour,  or  an  hour  if  you 
can,  force  your  thoughts  to  imagine  your 
heart  by  the  side  of  my  heart  in  order  to  ac- 
quire grace.  On  Thursday  you  will  join  the 
circle  of  the  brethren  and  silently  repeat, 
*  There  is  no  god  but  God.'  Then  or  at  other 
times  I  will  aid  you,  as  I  do  all  the  others,  by 
the  touch  of  my  forehead  to  yours.  After  a 
few  days  you  will  find  yourself  naturally  pic- 
turing your  being  as  entirely  absorbed  in 
mine,  so  that  you  can  no  longer  exist  separate 
from  your  guide.  From  that  hour,  no  matter 
what  you  do,  you  will  feel  my  hand  touching 
yours  and  my  eye  seeing  whatever  you  do. 
Go  in  peace,  my  son,  and  may  God  help  your 
seeking." 

The  Sheikh  called  Selim  back  to  strengthen 
his  faith.  "  Whatever  believing  man  or  be- 
lieving woman,"  he  said,  **  seeks  the  mercies 
and  limitless  gifts  of  God,  with  love  and 
fidelity,  God  forbid  that  the  Lord,  the  giver  of 
gifts,  should  leave  such  a  one  without  the 
guidance  which  he  needs."     The  truth  of  this 


74  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

comforting  thought  carried  with  it  to  Sehm's 
mind  conviction  of  the  rare  piety  of  the  Sheikh. 

After  the  studies  and  lectures  of  the  day, 
full  of  zeal  to  make  the  most  of  the  directions 
of  so  perfect  a  guide,  Selim  gave  an  hour 
each  afternoon  to  his  exercise  in  self-control. 
At  first,  ten  minutes  seemed  too  long  a  time. 
His  thoughts  were  filled  with  pictures  of  the 
camp  on  the  mountain  plateau,  of  the  ewes 
at  the  milking,  of  his  last  interview  with  his 
mother.  He  was  sorry  that  he  had  resolved 
on  using  a  whole  hour  in  the  task.  But  his 
honest  desire  for  knowledge  of  God  spurred 
his  resolution.  After  ten  days  he  was  able 
to  tell  the  Sheikh  that  during  this  exercise 
the  self-conscious  Selim  was  annihilated. 
The  Sheikh  was  all  in  all. 

**  Good,"  said  Sheikh  Abdullah  ;  ''  you  have 
taken  the  first  step.  Now  try  to  lose  your- 
self in  the  being  of  the  holy  prophet  Moham- 
med. Take  at  least  an  hour  to  each  exercise 
and  let  me  know  how  you  prosper." 

The  day's  work,  the  sweeping,  the  scullion 
tasks  in  the  kitchen,  the  carrying  food  and 
water,  the  studies  in  Arabic  syntax  and  the 
lessons  in  intoning  the  Koran,  became  to 
Selim  mere  incidents  of  life.  His  essential 
life  was  the  hour  spent  before  the  vesper 
w^orship  each  afternoon  when  with  grim  de- 


The  Nakishbendi  Dervishes  75 

termination  he  tried  to  fix  his  thoughts  upon 
the  person  of  Mohammed,  the  mediator  be- 
tween God  and  man.  A  sort  of  ecstasy  filled 
Selim's  heart  when  after  two  weeks  he  seemed 
to  be  lost  in  the  vision  of  the  person  of  the 
prophet.     He  heartily  praised  God. 

When  he  reported  his  progress  to  Sheikh 
Abdullah,  his  guide  said,  "  You  are  already  a 
dervish,  my  son,  for  you  put  love  into  it. 
Sheikh  Omar  will  help  you  in  the  next  stage, 
which  is  hard.  You  have  now  to  restore 
your  body  to  its  right  relations  to  God." 

Sheikh  Omar  was  a  young  man  with  a 
thin  ascetic  face  whose  pallor  was  in  sharp 
contrast  to  his  intensely  black  beard,  and 
whose  eyes  blazed  as  with  electricity.  Selim 
learned  from  him  to  turn  his  thoughts  and 
his  eyes  upon  his  own  heart,  described  to  him 
as  a  conical  object  two  inches  below  his  left 
breast.  To  bring  it  into  its  original  sensi- 
tiveness, the  dervish  must  sit  on  his  heels 
while  kneeling,  without  motion.  While 
Sheikh  Omar  knelt  in  front  of  him,  aiding  by 
silent  prayer,  Selim  had  to  hold  his  breath  as 
much  as  possible,  turning  his  tongue  back 
upon  his  palate.  In  this  posture  he  was  re- 
quired to  repeat  the  name  of  God  (Allah) 
three  thousand  times  in  his  very  heart.  His 
heart  must  say  '*  Allah  "  for  him. 


76  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

After  a  time  Sheikh  Omar  said  in  a  low 
voice,  "  Tell  me  when  you  see  it,  but  go  on 
until  you  do." 

Selim  went  on,  his  blood  throbbing  in  his 
ears  from  the  effort  to  do  without  breathing. 
He  recognized  the  voice  of  his  heart,  saying 
Al-lah,  Al-lah,  and  he  was  glad.  Then  all  at 
once  he  said,  "  I  see  something  like  a  cone 
all  red  ! " 

Sheikh  Omar  with  his  two  hands  gently 
raised  Selim's  bent  head  and  said,  "It  is 
enough  ;  your  heart  is  right.  Now  rest  be- 
fore the  call  to  worship." 

Trembling  and  bewildered  Selim  rose  to 
his  feet.  A  strange,  triumphant  feeling  filled 
his  heart.  He  had  never  known  such  joy  in 
religion.  He  was  truly  being  prepared  for 
the  knowledge  of  God ! 

After  some  weeks  of  hard  work  Selim  be- 
gan to  see  for  himself  why  this  order  is  called 
the  '*  Painter  Dervishes."  His  repetitions  of 
the  name  of  God  had  been  increased  to  six 
thousand  at  a  sitting,  and  he  could  see  a 
whole  gamut  of  colours  before  his  closed 
eyes.  These  colours,  he  was  told,  each  an- 
swered to  one  function  or  part  of  his  inward 
nature.  When  that  part  of  his  nature  was 
brought  under  control  of  the  Creator  the 
colour  blazed  forth.     As  if  the  Holy  Name 


The  Nakishbendi  Dervishes  77 

which  he  recited  was  a  calling  of  the  roll  of 
his  faculties,  his  soul,  his  mind,  his  con- 
science, and  so  on,  responded  by  the  appro- 
priate colour  to  the  name  of  God.  Each 
faculty  was  ready  and  obedient.  Selim, 
thrilled  by  this  experience,  now  saw  that  he 
was  on  the  way  to  unlimited  revelations. 

Intimate  association  with  so  celebrated  a 
divine  as  Sheikh  Abdullah,  a  strange  sense 
of  self-subjugation  produced  by  success  in 
using  the  theosophical  exercises,  and  the  in- 
spiring service  on  Thursday  in  the  circle  of 
the  whole  brotherhood  made  Selim  a  new 
man.  His  being,  aroused  from  torpor,  rec- 
ognized its  source.  His  soul  ardently  longed 
for  still  nearer  approach  to  God.  He  was 
more  content  with  himself  than  ever  before. 

One  day  Sheikh  Abdullah  came  to  Selim 
at  the  hour  for  contemplation.  He  said, 
"You  have  now  to  make  a  great  step  for- 
ward. There  is  none  existent  besides  God, 
and  you  have  to  learn  this.  Hereafter  say 
La  ilahaiV  Allah  (There  is  no  god  but 
God)  as  you  strive  to  incline  your  heart  to 
Him." 

Then  the  Sheikh  knelt  in  front  of  Selim  as 
before,  knee  touching  knee  and  forehead 
touching  forehead.  **  Fill  your  lungs,'*  he 
said,  "  keep  your  lips  shut,  turn  your  tongue 


78  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

back  upon  your  palate  and  try  to  say  these 
words  of  the  unity  of  God  three  times  before 
releasing  your  breath.  Each  time  at  the 
word  *  la '  think  all  things,  even  yourself,  an- 
nihilated. At  *  ilah '  think  there  is  naught 
but  God.  At  the  word  * //'  Allah'  remember 
that  God  is.  Then  as  you  release  your 
breath  repeat  the  words  '  Mohammed  is  the 
prophet  of  God.'  As  you  draw  in  a  new 
breath  pray  with  all  your  heart,  *  I  seek  Thee, 
O  God  ;  Thy  favour  I  desire.'  Make  twenty- 
one  breathings  in  this  way." 

Sitting  in  solemn  silence  Selim  accom- 
plished the  twenty-one  breathings,  the 
Sheikh's  forehead  resting  upon  his  during 
the  whole  time.  He  felt  transported  beyond 
himself.  Every  nerve  was  throbbing,  every 
muscle  tense.     But  nothing  happened  ! 

''Try  it  again,"  said  the  patient  Sheikh. 
"  This  time  make  sure  that  your  mind  and 
heart  are  fixed  in  the  desire  for  God's  pres- 
ence. Try  to  say  the  declaration  of  the  unity 
seven  times  with  each  breath." 

Selim  obeyed,  the  Sheikh  with  deep  inward 
struggle  seeking  to  influence  his  thought 
while  resting  his  forehead  on  that  of  his 
neophyte.  After  a  time  Selim  seemed  to  see 
himself  enveloped  in  light  from  head  to  foot. 
He  fell  prostrate  on  the  ground  muttering, 


The  Nakishbendi  Dervishes  79 

"  Oh,  my  God  !  "  and  became  unconscious 
from  very  excess  of  joy. 

Very  gently  the  Sheikh  disengaged  him- 
self from  the  prostrate  body  and  rose  to  his 
feet  wiping  beads  of  perspiration  from  his 
face.  He  looked  as  one  could  imagine  the 
witch  of  Endor  looked  when  her  incantations 
brought  Samuel  from  the  grave. 

Long  he  talked  with  Selim  of  the  result 
of  following  regularly  these  practices.  The 
seeker  begins  to  see  that  he  has  no  separate 
thought  of  his  own  because  of  the  Presence ; 
he  merely  interprets  God.  Then  he  will  rec- 
ognize every  sound  of  bird  or  beast  as  from 
God.  Finally  there  will  come  a  time  when, 
shaken  as  by  an  earthquake,  he  will  seem  to 
be  annihilated.  There  will  be  no  rocks,  no 
trees,  no  mountains,  no  sea,  all  will  be  God, 
in  whom  all  live  and  move.  "  You  can  now 
go  on  by  yourself,"  said  the  Sheikh,  '*  with 
occasional  aid  from  Sheikh  Omar  and  my- 
self. Unutterable  things  are  before  you,  if 
with  a  sincere  heart  you  practice  every  day 
as  much  as  possible.  You  will  find  in  time 
that,  whatever  you  do,  God  is  in  it.  In  all 
places  you  will  be  with  God.  All  that  is  will 
be  obedient  to  you  for  God's  sake.  You  will 
teach  men  and  they  will  become  wise  because 
in  your  words   God  speaks.     Whether  you 


8o  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

heal  or  whether  with  a  glance  you  kill,  all 
your  acts  will  show  that  you  abide  in  the 
ocean  of  the  being  of  God.  Let  this  be  your 
aim  since  now  you  know  the  way." 

Selim  was  intoxicated.  He  had  never 
dreamed  of  such  attainments  resulting  from 
drawing  near  to  God.  His  humble  wish  had 
been  to  learn  from  his  God  some  gauge  of 
conduct,  some  signal  of  danger  which  he 
would  loyally  know  and  obey  afar  off ;  but 
through  these  thrilling  exercises  would  be  re- 
vealed to  him  the  presence  of  God  actually 
filling  his  soul  and  shaping  his  acts  without 
anxiety  and  without  conscious  effort  of  his 
own.  By  compelling  his  mind  to  shut  out 
everything  but  the  glorious  name  of  God, 
whatever  he  did  would  be  well  directed  and 
beyond  blame.  His  name,  Selim,  means 
Safe.  He  was  indeed  safe ;  he  had  within 
reach  the  most  priceless  possession  which 
mind  can  imagine. 


VII 

THE  PERFECT  GUIDE 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  exalta- 
tion of  soul  which  sprang  from  the 
exercises  of  the  contemplation  of 
God,  Selim  at  times  descended  from  the 
heights  to  prosaic  study  of  his  inward  state. 
Sheikh  Abdullah  had  assured  him  that  his 
thoughts,  w^ords  and  acts  would  all  be  seen 
to  come  from  God.  Yet  the  delights  of  the 
contemplation  brought  Selim  in  the  classes 
no  tastes  and  feelings  that  he  could  call 
godly.  He  had  reached  no  stable  heights 
of  nobility  ;  he  had  felt  no  warm  regard  for 
his  brothers,  the  other  students;  he  was 
vexed  and  angered  as  readily  as  before ;  a 
dull  irritability  was  the  background  on  which 
he  scored  the  peculiarities  and  defects  of  his 
comrades.  Bitter  scorn  entered  his  thoughts 
as  he  perceived  a  long  nose  or  expansive 
ears,  and  he  hated  their  possessor.  He  was 
no  longer  a  reckless  free-thinker ;  blind  obedi- 
ence to  Sheikh  Abdullah  had  ended  that. 
Yet  some  of  his  thoughts  the  Sheikh  would 
certainly  disapprove.  From  the  exercises 
8i 


82  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

that  the  Sheikh  had  taught  him  sprang 
ecstasy  in  the  conviction  that  God  is,  but  in 
fact  he  had  to  admit  these  exercises  were 
merely  new  forms  of  worship  and  adoration. 
They  did  not  teach  him  to  hear  the  voice  of 
God  directing  his  conduct.  Without  being 
able  to  analyze  his  feelings,  Selim  longed  for 
the  bond  to  the  Eternal  which  is  called 
religion,  and  which  craves  response  when 
the  pious  soul  offers  worship.  Questions  of 
right,  which  he  had  thought  fully  answered, 
harassed  him  in  the  hours  when  he  was  not 
actually  ravished  by  the  exercises  of  the 
**  way." 

Salih,  one  of  the  older  students  with  whom 
he  often  talked,  openly  derided  his  expecta- 
tion of  manly  growth  through  obedience  to 
the  Sheikh  as  a  perfect  guide. 

*'  All  these  exercises  are  physical,"  he  said. 
**  They  tickle  the  flesh  and  leave  the  soul  as 
it  was.  My  poor  Selim,  you  waste  your 
time.  You  hold  your  breath  to  make  your 
heart  say  Allah,  first  making  ablution  and 
facing  towards  Mecca.  Turn  your  back  on 
Mecca  and  without  making  ablution  hold 
your  breath  long  enough,  and  your  heart  will 
beat  *  rub-dub  rub-dub  '  in  your  ears  just  the 
same.  Your  heart  does  not  say  Allah.  It 
says  just  what  the  heart  of  a  naked  African 


The  Perfect  Guide 


The  Perfect  Guide  83 

pagan's  heart  says,  if  he  holds  his  breath. 
I  have  tried  one  order  of  dervishes  after 
another,  the  gasping  Kadiris,  the  whirling 
Mevlevis,  the  howling  Rufayis,  the  Behais 
who  prate  of  love  to  all  but  practice  it  not. 
They  all  say  they  have  a  way  to  find  joy  in 
God.  What  they  find  is  no  more  nor  less 
than  that  which  Omar  Khayyam  found  in 
dealing  with  these  same  wise  ones : 

** '  Myself  when  young  did  eagerly  frequent 
Doctor  and  Saint  and  heard  great  argument 
About  it  and  about ;  but  ever  more 
Came  out  by  the  same  door  as  in  I  went.'  " 

Selim  and  Salih,  attracted  to  each  other  by 
a  common  habit  of  daring  to  think  for  them- 
selves, differed  as  widely  in  the  tendency  of 
their  thought  as  though  they  had  been  con- 
scious followers  of  two  opposing  theories  of 
religion.  Both  being  Mohammedans  by  in- 
heritance they  neither  knew  nor  wished  to 
know  any  other  religion.  A  Muslim  who 
looks  into  another  religion  even  for  compari- 
son breaks  the  law  of  Mohammed  that  says 
to  him  *'  Believe  or  die." 

Salih  accepted  all  this  as  one  accepts  dis- 
agreeable weather,  without  thought  of  rebel- 
lion. He  daily  uttered  his  profession  of  faith 
with  no  more  power  than  a  parrot  to  defend 
it,  and  with  no  criticism  of  its  meagreness. 


84  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

He  pursued  his  sacred  studies  not  because 
they  were  precious  or  sacred,  but  because  as 
a  teacher,  a  preacher,  a  lawyer  or  a  judge, 
he  could  some  day  gain  from  them  support 
and  ease. 

Selim,  on  the  other  hand,  used  the  profes- 
sion of  faith  and  the  words  of  worship  as  the 
expression  of  his  veneration  for  God.  But 
something  essential  was  lacking.  An  aspira- 
tion for  spiritual  realities  like  a  voice  of 
command  dominated  his  heart.  The  words 
of  Job,  of  whose  struggles  he  had  never 
heard,  would  express  the  yearning  of  his 
soul, — *'  Oh,  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find 
Him."  If  he  yielded  to  Salih's  suggestions 
his  scheme  of  values  in  life  would  hopelessly 
collapse. 

Salih  advised  him,  like  one  who  knows,  to 
stop  vain  seeking  after  a  distant  God  who 
cannot  be  found.  "  Drop  the  whole  wretched 
business,"  he  said.  **  Look  out  for  yourself. 
You  like  mysteries,  learn  astrology.  It  will 
pay  you  in  renown  as  well  as  in  gold.  Mirza 
Rustem  of  Bijur  in  Persia  knows  every  star 
as  he  knows  his  brother.  Although  he  is  a 
Fire-worshipping  pagan,  Muslim  students 
from  all  the  land  go  to  him  to  learn  as- 
tronomy and  astrology  that  they  may  benefit 
their  own  people  by  his  science." 


The  Perfect  Guide  85 

"  No,"  said  Selim, ''  your  advice  is  like  tell- 
ing a  man  to  turn  up  his  trousers  before  he 
reaches  the  river.  I  am  going  to  follow  my 
leader  to  the  end.  Obedience  and  faith  are 
absolute  and  reasonable  conditions  of  attain- 
ment      Why  !  what  was  that  ?  " 

Both  the  young  men  silently  listened  a 
moment ;  both  had  heard  a  faint  rustle  as  of 
the  swishing  of  a  gown.  Yet  it  was  late  and 
no  one  would  be  likely  to  walk  the  dark 
cloister  at  that  hour.  Salih  arose  and  quietly 
stepped  to  the  open  door.  Nothing  was  to 
be  seen,  but  the  possibility  that  some  one 
had  been  listening  to  his  outspoken  expres- 
sion made  him  uneasy. 

''  Is  there  any  one  in  this  place,"  he  asked 
Selim,  "who  would  try  to  search  our  hearts  ?  " 

"Why  should  any  one  spy  on  us?  "an- 
swered Selim  ;  "  there  is  no  police  here  and  we 
are  not  conspirators." 

Two  days  later  the  students  were  listening 
to  a  lecture  from  Sheikh  Abdullah  on  some 
intricate  problems  of  the  Canon  Law  on  in- 
heritance They  were  seated,  as  usual,  cross- 
legged  on  sheepskins  placed  on  the  floor  in 
rows  which  formed  a  semicircle  in  front  of 
the  raised  dais  on  which  the  old  Sheikh  sat 
among  his  cushions.  All  were  closely  follow- 
ing   the    illustrations    of    the  lecturer  who 


86  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

needed  profound  knowledge  of  casuistry  in 
that  field  to  satisfy  active  minds  of  the  eternal 
justice  of  the  Koran. 

A  little  in  front  of  Selim,  Salih  was  sitting 
with  Sheikh  Omar  close  to  him  on  his  left. 
As  if  to  relieve  a  cramped  position  Sheikh 
Omar  extended  his  arm  behind  the  back  of 
Salih.  The  movement  attracted  Selim's  eyes 
for  an  instant,  but  the  lecturer's  arguments 
absorbed  his  attention.  Suddenly  Salih  gave 
a  gasping  cry.  Selim  saw  Sheikh  Omar's 
arm  withdrawn  and  in  the  wide  sleeve  some- 
thing sparkled  for  a  moment,  long  and 
slender  like  a  packing  needle.  As  all  eyes 
were  turned  towards  Salih,  they  saw  him 
slowly  sink  sidewise  to  the  floor.  Instantly 
Sheikh  Omar  embraced  the  prostrate  form, 
saying,  ''What  is  it,  brother?  What  has 
happened  ? " 

The  students  sprang  to  their  feet  and 
crowded  around.  But  first  of  all  Sheikh  Ab- 
dullah was  at  the  side  of  Salih,  and  as  he  be- 
gan to  chafe  the  poor  fellow's  hands,  he  cried, 
*'  Bring  water  quickly  !  " 

They  sprinkled  Salih's  face,  tried  to  make 
him  drink,  and  finally  by  Sheikh  Abdullah's 
orders  Omar  and  two  or  three  others  carried 
Salih  to  the  Sheikh's  own  room.  As  they 
lifted  him,  Selim  saw  a  small  red  spot  on  the 


The  Perfect  Guide  87 

floor,  and  saw  Sheikh  Omar  deftly  cover  it 
with  the  edge  of  a  sheepskin  in  the  fleece  of 
which  his  fingers  became  entangled  as  he 
lifted  the  unconscious  form.  Our  thoughts 
rule  us  when  they  come  in  orderly  and  har- 
monious succession.  Selim's  thoughts  came 
as  a  mob  when  there  is  no  police.  They 
clamoured  at  several  sides  of  his  brain  at 
once,  and  they  held  him  dazed,  with  open 
mouth  and  staring  eyes,  while  the  rest  of  the 
students  flocked  to  the  door  through  which 
Salih  had  been  carried. 

Sheikh  Abdullah  in  a  low,  even  voice  or- 
dered all  but  Omar  to  leave  the  room,  where 
the  two  remained  to  care  for  Salih.  After  a 
short  time  Sheikh  Omar  came  out,  closing 
the  door  behind  him,  and  said  to  the  students  : 

*'  May  you  never  be  less  !  Our  brother 
Salih  has  been  smitten  by  apoplexy  and  has 
passed  to  the  mercy  of  God.  May  God  rest 
his  soul ! " 

''  May  God  give  him  peace ! "  answered  the 
students  in  solemn  chorus. 

Shortly  afterwards  Sheikh  Abdullah  came 
to  the  door  and  calling  Selim  with  a  gesture, 
said,  ''  Go  to  the  Government  House  and  get 
a  permit  to  bury  Salih.  Say  he  died  of  apo- 
plexy. Of  course  it  is  not  fair  to  our  brother 
to  delay  the  burial  over  night,  and  the  day  is 


88  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

far  spent.  Give  the  clerk  these  two  dollars 
for  his  trouble  and  come  back  quickly." 

Selim  was  still  numb  from  the  clash  of  the 
testimony  of  his  eyes  that  had  seen,  of  his 
heart  that  lovingly  trusted  his  guide,  and  of 
his  intellect  which  interpreted  that  motion  of 
Sheikh  Omar's  arm  the  moment  before  Salih 
fell.     He  answered : 

**  It  is  for  you  to  choose  by  whom  you  will 
send  ;  let  it  not  seem  an  offense  to  you  that 
I  would  excuse  myself  from  going  out  so 
soon." 

Sheikh  Abdullah  looked  keenly  at  Selim, 
and  said  to  him,  *'  Are  you  so  moved  by  what 
God  has  done  ?  Stay  and  pray  that  all  sin 
may  be  forgiven  our  brother.  A  sudden 
death  atones  for  much."  Then  he  sent  an- 
other student  for  the  burial  permit. 

All  things  were  done  decently  and  in  order. 
Sheikh  Abdullah  and  Omar  so  loved  Salih 
that  with  their  own  hands  they  washed  the 
body  in  canonical  form,  wound  it  in  the  burial 
sheet,  and  placed  it  in  the  bier  covered  with 
green  cloth  and  Persian  shawls,  and  with 
tender  care  they  arranged  the  white  turban  of 
the  dead  upon  the  upright  at  the  head  of  the 
bier. 

The  Imam  of  the  neighbouring  mosque  led 
the  prayers  of  burial  and  then  the  whole  body 


The  Perfect  Guide  89 

of  students  took  turns  in  carrying  the  bier 
on  their  shoulders  to  the  grave.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  dervish  fraternity  in  two  long  files 
preceded  the  body  through  the  narrow  streets 
solemnly  chanting  La  ilaha  iV  Allah,  And 
so  they  laid  away  poor  Salih. 

That  night  brought  a  succession  of  horrors 
to  Selim.  Salih  was  gone,  smitten  by  a 
brutal  hand  because  some  one  had  overheard 
his  sneer  at  the  sacred  rites  of  the  seekers. 
What  remained  ?  What  manner  of  man  was 
the  Sheikh,  that  perfect  guide?  He  had 
aided,  perhaps  planned  the  murder.  In 
either  case  he  was  a  liar  and  in  the  eyes  of 
God  an  accursed  hypocrite.  The  whole  de- 
lightful tissue  of  hopes  and  satisfied  long- 
ings which  had  been  woven  about  the  piety 
of  that  white-haired,  genial  old  man  was  as 
filthy  rags!  Selim  could  not  face  Sheikh 
Abdullah  again.  As  for  Omar,  the  deceitful 
assassin,  Selim's  only  question  was  whether 
it  was  right  to  leave  the  seminary  without 
first  killing  him. 

For  he  must  leave  the  seminary  at  once. 
He  ought  to  go  to  the  Government  House 
and  denounce  the  crime.  But  where  were 
his  proofs?  The  whole  body  of  students 
would  testify  that  his  story  was  a  dream  of  a 
shadow,  without  ground  or  substance.     Or  if 


90  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

some  believed  the  accusation,  Sheikh  Abdul- 
lah had  only  to  explain  that  Salih  had  blas- 
phemed God  and  religion  in  such  terms  that 
duty  to  God  required  every  pious  man  to  kill 
him.  The  judges  and  the  governor  would 
need  no  further  inquest.  The  sense  of  duty 
to  religion  would  make  the  civil  powers  a 
grinding  millstone  to  crush  any  man  who  in 
such  a  case  should  lay  a  charge  of  crime 
against  the  holy  Sheikh.  Islam  tolerates 
much,  but  never  a  loose  and  irreligious 
tongue. 

Selim  had  decided  to  leave  the  place  and 
at  once.  Naturally  he  would  go  home.  Sud- 
denly he  reflected  that  he  could  not  live  in 
silence  among  his  own  people.  If  he  spoke, 
his  father,  his  clan,  and  even  his  mother 
would  fly  upon  him  in  fury  for  calumniating 
the  pious  Sheikh.  There  too  he  would  face 
an  outraged  Islam.  *'  There  is  no  guide  to 
God  in  this  place,"  he  finally  said,  ''but 
somewhere  there  must  be."  He  would  go 
out  like  Abraham  not  knowing  whither. 

The  sorely  smitten  man  went  in  the  dark- 
ness to  the  litde  fountain  in  the  court  of  the 
seminary  and  washed  his  face,  his  hands,  his 
feet  in  strict  performance  of  the  sacred  ablu- 
tions. Then  silently  he  went  through  four 
"rounds"  of  the  regular  litany  of  worship, 


The  Perfect  Guide  91 

and  prayed  again  the  prayer  from  the  first 
chapter  of  the  Koran  :  "  Guide  me  in  the  way 
of  them  to  whom  Thou  art  gracious."  He  had 
to  trust  God  for  direction,  or  life  was  vain. 

Long  before  the  day  began  to  dawn,  Selim 
took  up  what  few  things  he  must  carry  in  his 
journey,  slid  back  the  heavy  wooden  bar  of 
the  outer  courtyard  gate,  walked  quietly 
through  the  silent  streets,  and  went  out  of 
the  city  by  the  northern  road  towards  Khoi 
Sanjak.  He  chose  that  road  as  least  likely 
to  be  taken  by  any  one  who  might  be  or- 
dered  to  overtake  him.  For  did  not  his 
flight  mark  him  as  a  suspicious  character, 
perhaps  a  traitor  to  the  religion  of  the  holy 
prophet  ? 

Selim's  journey  had  a  purpose  at  its  start- 
ing point  only.  As  to  the  goal  it  was  like 
the  way  of  the  hairy  caterpillar  in  a  grass 
plot,  shaped  only  by  blind  hopes  of  escape  in 
some  direction.  At  Khoi  Sanjak  he  found 
himself  among  Kurds  belonging  to  other 
clans  of  the  Jaff  tribe.  These  were  friendly 
and  hospitable  and  full  of  curiosity  as  to  his 
purpose  in  visiting  that  city. 

One  of  the  mosque  servants  whispered  a 
question  about  him  to  one  of  the  worship- 
pers :  "  Who  is  that  young  fellow  who  stands 
straight  like  a  candle?" 


92  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

*'  He  must  be  from  one  of  the  clans  down 
Baghdad  way ;  but  1  know  nothing  about 
him." 

''  Many  young  fellows  are  strolling  around 
in  these  times  without  rope  or  handle  that 
one  can  hold  them  by.  Coming  here  was 
his  affair,  but  going  away  is  not  his  affair 
until  we  know  whence  and  where  he  comes 
and  goes." 

Selim  was  rather  panic  stricken  by  the 
mosque  servant's  remark.  He  could  not 
conceal  his  identity  ;  his  speech  betrayed  his 
southern  origin.  He  could  not  tell  his  story  ; 
he  would  be  deemed  an  enemy  of  Islam.  So 
he  adopted  Salih's  advice  casually  dropped 
in  their  last  discussion.  He  told  his  new 
friends  that  he  was  Selim,  son  of  Hassan  Bey 
of  the  Mikaeli  clan,  and  that  by  the  favour  of 
God  he  intended  to  go  to  Bijur  in  Persia  to 
study  astronomy  under  Mirza  Rustem.  This 
seemed  reasonable  to  the  Kurds  of  Khoi 
Sanjak  and  they  helped  him  on  his  way. 


VIII 
THE  BOOK 

NO  charlatan  astrologer  was  Mirza 
Rustem.  His  forecasts  were  based 
on  an  intimate  knowledge  of  as- 
tronomy. He  could  tell  exactly  the  move- 
ments of  the  stars.  He  had  measured  and 
proved  and  pictured  their  spheres  rolling 
around  the  earth.  In  his  own  person  he  felt 
the  influence  of  the  various  houses  of  the 
heavens  as  each  in  turn  became  ascendant. 
Therefore,  for  any  applicant  who  knew  the 
day  and  hour  of  his  birth  the  Mirza  with 
sincere  accuracy  laid  ofi  a  horoscope.  He 
asked  no  money  for  this  service,  but  accepted 
whatever  token  of  satisfaction  the  enlightened 
inquirer  chose  to  lay  at  his  feet. 

Because  of  his  disinterestedness  quite  as 
much  as  because  he  was  old,  dignified  and 
wise,  the  Mirza  held  the  regard  and  respect 
of  his  Mohammedan  neighbours.  People 
called  him  "  a  scratching  post  for  the  herd.'* 
Whether  in  physical  pain,  in  fear  of  calamity, 
or  in  plain  perplexity  what  to  do  next ; 
93 


94  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

whether  about  to  travel,  to  marry,  or  to  close 
a  business  deal,  the  common  folk  used  to  ask 
Mirza  Rustem  to  *'  teach  their  brains "  as 
they  phrased  it,  and  sometimes  he  taught 
their  consciences  too.  So  in  the  midst  of  a 
small  group  of  other  Mejusis  (Parsis)  who 
paid  tribute  to  the  Persians  for  the  privilege 
of  keeping  their  heads  on  their  shoulders, 
Mirza  Rustem  lived  peacefully  and  content- 
edly in  his  house  at  Bijur. 

Selim  liked  the  Mirza  with  that  intuitive 
liking  at  first  sight  which  invites  a  long 
friendship.  At  the  very  first  Mirza  Rustem 
cast  Selim's  horoscope,  and  found  that  at  his 
birth  the  house  of  religion  was  in  the  ascend- 
ant. This  satisfied  Selim  of  the  old  philoso- 
pher's capacity,  and  made  him  glad  that  he 
had  followed  that  casual  impulse  to  free  him- 
self from  the  questioning  of  the  men  of  Khoi 
Sanjak  by  telling  them  that  he  was  on  his 
way  to  Bijur  to  study  astronomy. 

The  theories  of  Copernicus  and  Kepler 
not  having  penetrated  Persia,  Mirza  Rustem 
taught  the  Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy. 
Selim  wrote  out  copious  notes  of  his  lessons, 
and  illustrated  these  notes  under  his  teacher's 
direction  by  finely  coloured  sketches  showing 
the  sphere  of  each  planet  surrounding  the 
earth  as  centre  of  the  universe  ;  the  several 


The  Book  95 

spheres  lying  in  relation  to  each  other  like 
the  layers  of  an  onion  and  revolving  inde- 
pendently as  the  onion  layers  do  not.  After 
some  months  of  study  Selim  had  learned  to 
cast  horoscopes  himself.  His  forecasts  of 
probabilities,  having  been  happily  verified  in 
several  notable  cases,  soon  began  to  bring 
him  renown  and  its  shining  rewards. 

On  the  approach  of  spring,  however,  Selim 
made  ready  to  go  back  to  his  clan.  He  could 
not  longer  avoid  this  piece  of  self-denial. 
Rustem's  family  was  in  delightful  contrast  to 
his  own.  Here  he  had  freedom  of  thought 
and  action  ;  there  he  was  cramped  like  a  chick 
in  a  shell  by  ingenious  devices  to  prevent  his 
breaking  out  into  the  free  air.  Here  he  had 
a  worthy  sage  for  a  friend  whose  sympathy 
fostered  every  good  impulse  ;  there  his  peo- 
ple tolerated  or  encouraged  evil  practices  and 
suspiciously  rebuked  impatience  with  evil 
ways.  With  the  Muslims  of  Bijur  he  had 
nothing  to  do  since  a  belt  of  volcanic  activit)^ 
marks  the  borders  of  the  peoples  who  brood 
over  the  Persian  notion  that  Ali  was  the 
greatest  of  the  CaHphs.  In  Selim's  eyes  the 
Shi'ites  were  heretics  from  whom  every  vil- 
lainy may  be  expected,  while  nothing  that  he 
was  could  be  worse  than  their  estimate  of  him 
as  a  Sunnite. 


96  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

Yet  Selim's  mind  was  always  alert  on  ques- 
tions of  personal  religion.  He  still  expected 
somewhere  to  meet  a  Muslim  wise  and  good 
enough  to  help  on  the  quest  from  whose 
painful  incidents  he  now  enjoyed  a  respite. 
Every  day  he  went  through  the  required 
forms  of  worship,  and  when  the  fast  of  Ram- 
azan  fell  due  he  observed  it  rigorously.  In 
fact,  like  many  another  sincere  and  pious 
Muslim,  Selim  tried  to  serve  God  with  fear. 

One  morning  while  talking  with  Mirza 
Rustem,  Selim  let  his  warm  regard  for  his 
teacher  express  itself  frankly.  "  Mirza,''  he 
said,  '*  our  people,  whatever  their  conduct 
might  imply,  truly  believe  in  the  one  God, 
and  there  is  none  else.  You  have  read  the 
Koran,  you  have  many  qualities  of  a  Mo- 
hammedan, why  do  you  not  take  on  the  name  ? 
Why  does  not  your  intellect  drive  you  from 
paganism?" 

*'  You  call  me  pagan,"  replied  Mirza  Rus- 
tem with  unusual  energy,  "  and  offer  me 
Islam.  Let  me  suggest  to  you  that  when  a 
man  wishes  to  fight,  it  is  unwise  for  him  to 
begin  by  thrusting  his  beard  in  his  opponent's 
face,  for  he  will  yell  for  mercy  the  next  mo- 
ment. Mohammedans  are  the  pagans  of  the 
world.  They  pray  to  Mecca — not  to  God. 
From  the  ends  of  the  earth  they  rush  to  kiss 


The  Book  97 

the  black  stone  of  the  Caaba,  and  seek  from 
it  the  remission  of  sins.  The  central  core  of 
their  rehgion  is  rotten  Arabian  paganism 
As  for  the  Koran  the  truth  in  it  is  what  your 
prophet  could  remember  from  descriptions  of 
the  Bible  given  him  by  Jews  and  Christians. 
And  when  he  found  a  vacuum  in  his  memory 
he  filled  it  with  his  own  ideas  of  what  God 
might  reasonably  expect  from  men.  The 
Koran  has  value,  but  it  is  borrowed  at  second 
hand  from  the  limpid  stream  of  truth  in  the 
Bible." 

Selim  was  too  sincere  a  believer  in  Mo- 
hammedanism to  be  free  from  its  characteris- 
tic intolerance. 

**  Stay  !  Defile  your  lips  with  blasphemy 
no  more  ! "  he  cried.  **  We  let  no  man  re- 
vile the  holy  book  which  was  created  before 
the  world's  foundations  were  laid." 

'*  Do  not  explode  like  a  squib,"  said  Rus- 
tem.  "  You  introduced  the  subject ;  now 
talk  quietly  and  sensibly  about  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Selim,  *'  this  wonderful  Bible 
has  no  claim  on  me." 

*'  It  has  this  claim  on  you  that  the  Koran 
does  it  homage  under  the  name  of  the  Tonrah 
(the  law),  the  Zebour  (the  Psalms)  and  the  Injil 
(the  Gospel).     Stay,  I  will  show  it  to  you." 

The  Fire-worshipper  went   to  the  shelves 


98  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

filled  with  the  wisdom  of  Asia  in  many 
tongues.  He  took  down  a  small  thick 
volume  in  Persian.  It  was  bound  in  yellow- 
ish-brown sheepskin.  The  corners  had  worn 
through,  and  one  of  the  covers  was  ready  to 
drop  off  through  the  cracking  of  the  dry 
leather.  Mirza  Rustem  held  the  book 
towards  Selim,  saying,  "  See,  the  name  de- 
scribes it :  *  The  Holy  Book.'  It  is  the  mes- 
sage of  God  to  past  generations.  It  still  has 
power  to  blast  sin  that  is  rooted  in  the  heart." 

Selim  frowned  at  the  Mirza's  warmth. 
"  Show  me,  "  said  he,  "  where  it  says,  'There 
is  no  god  but  God.*  That  is  the  test  of  its 
worthiness  to  be  read." 

Mirza  Rustem  turned  over  a  few  pages  and 
read,  *'*The  Lord  thy  God  is  one  God,  and 
thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
might.'  Your  prophet  has  taught  you,"  he 
added,  '*  the  first  part  of  this  truth.  But  he 
forgot  and  left  out  of  the  Koran  the  fact  that 
the  believing  heart  responds  to  God  as  soon 
as  it  listens  to  His  messages.  As  far  as  you 
know  God  you  will  naturally  grow  to  love 
him  with  passion  and  as  this  love  grows, 
with  it  grows  knowledge  of  God.  A  baby 
grows  to  know  its  mother  in  the  same  way. 
Your    prophet   shut  the  door  to  growth  in 


The  Book  99 

your  faces  by  trying  like  a  careless  school- 
boy to  remember  what  he  had  heard  without 
understanding,  instead  of  sending  clear  to 
Jerusalem,  if  need  be,  to  get  the  book  itself 
from  which  to  teach  the  people." 

Selim's  anger  flared  up.  '*  You  shall  not 
say  such  things  of  the  blessed  prophet. 
Remember  to  whom  you  are  speaking ! " 

"  We  sit  crooked,  Selim,  but  let  us  talk 
straight.  I  am  speaking  to  a  man  of  open 
mind,  who  can  bear  the  truth  whatever  it  be. 
Because  you  need  this  book  I  have  brought 
it  out.  Yet  you  talk  as  if  I  had  done  you  a 
wrong.  You  know  very  v/ell  that  many  of 
your  people  are  fit  only  to  be  backlogs  in 
hell.  You  know  they  do  not  love  God. 
They  believe  in  Him  as  the  last  desperate 
resort  of  one  who  is  crippled  and  out  of  the 
running." 

"  I  know  that  we  all  do  wrong,  but  God  is 
compassionate  and  merciful,  for  we  are  frail," 
said  Selim.     *'  Does  your  book  know  that  ?  " 

"  Don't  call  it  my  book.  It  is  the  book  of 
mankind."  Turning  over  a  few  pages  the 
Mirza  read,  ''  *  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a 
jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquities  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and 
fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate  Me  and 
showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of  them  that 


loo  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

love  Me  and  keep  My  commandments.'  You 
believe  that  God  is  merciful  and  compassion- 
ate and  you  believe  truly.  But  how  can 
those  who  shrink  from  God  profit  by  His 
mercy  and  compassion  ?  " 

"  God  forbid !  We  do  not  shrink  from 
God.  We  submissively  keep  His  command- 
ments. We  worship  Him  five  times  every 
day.  Can  you  not  see  that  this  makes  us 
the  people  of  God  ?  " 

**  When  this  book  speaks  of  the  command- 
ments it  does  not  point  to  anything  outside, 
like  the  words  of  your  litany.  It  speaks  of 
what  is  inside  like  the  wish  to  do  right 
always.  It  is  that  wish  ruling  the  heart 
which  lets  a  man  stand  before  God  without 
fear.  Just  listen."  The  Mirza  turned  to  the 
Beatitudes  and  read,  **  Blessed  are  the  poor  in 
spirit  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven," 
etc.  When  he  came  to  the  words,  **  Blessed 
are  the  pure  in  heart  for  they  shall  see  God," 
SeUm  started  as  though  he  had  received  an 
electric  shock.  Something  like  a  veil  over 
his  mind  had  been  rent.  He  reached  out 
both  hands  and  cried,  "  Give  me  that  book." 

He  seized  the  Bible  with  the  grip  of  a 
brigand  and  read  over  the  words  with  thirsty 
soul.  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart  for  they 
shall  see  God."     The  truth  was  as  clear  as 


The  Book  loi 

though  it  had  always  been  a  part  of  his 
belief.  Of  course  a  clean  heart  is  inseparable 
from  piety !  But  the  common  experience  of 
his  life  had  been  to  approach  God  with  the 
mouth  and  honour  Him  with  the  lips  while  the 
heart  was  far  from  Him.  This  was  the  first 
hint  he  had  ever  received  that  approach  to 
God  depends  on  harmony  of  the  heart  with 
Him.  Through  an  unsuspected  rift  in  the 
clouds  which  covered  his  horizon  the  sun  had 
suddenly  blazed  forth,  and  the  great  fact  was 
that  he  could  see !  Evil  tolerated  in  the 
heart  shuts  out  God  I  He  was  like  a  man 
walking  on  the  banks  of  a  well-known  river 
who  finds  a  nugget  of  gold  in  the  sand.  In 
that  glad  moment  nothing  suggested  to  him 
that  self-will  had  vested  interests  in  his  life 
which  would  make  travel  in  his  new  way  to 
God  different  from  a  pleasure  promenade. 
We  rarely  notice  the  great  turning  points  in 
life  or  their  significance. 

Gready  amused  was  the  philosophic  Fire- 
worshipper  at  the  spectacle  of  this  ardent 
Mohammedan  spending  hours  every  day 
seeking  in  the  Bible  knowledge  of  God  and 
of  the  means  of  purifying  the  heart  from 
things  that  God  hates.  The  Mirza  watched 
with  curiosity  the  effect  upon  Selim  of  the 
glowing  eloquence  of  the  Psalter ;  in  the  first 


102  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

Psalm  arousing  wonder  at  those  moral  quali- 
ties which  express  dependence  on  God;  in 
the  one  hundred  and  thirty-ninth  Psalm  com- 
pelling a  novel  feeling  of  solemn  joy  in 
living  under  an  all-seeing  eye ;  in  the  twenty- 
third  Psalm  giving  assurance  of  divine  guid- 
ance and  protection  in  a  form  that  appealed 
to  the  sheep-master,  who  straightway  named 
that  Psalm  the  Shepherd's  Wallet  of  Com- 
fort; in  the  fifty-first  Psalm  becoming  a 
torrent  of  unheard-of  expressions  of  contrition 
for  trespass  and  of  passion  for  reform.  There 
the  young  Kurd  had  to  pause.  He  read 
over  and  over  again  the  words  that  gave 
utterance  to  his  longings  hitherto  inarticulate. 
''Who  wrote  this  book,"  he  cried,  *' which 
knows  me  ?  Why  must  a  Mussulman  learn 
how  to  express  these  plain  truths  that  every- 
body knows  from  those  whom  we  rate  as 
infidels  and  blasphemers  ?  " 

Selim  saw  only  Mohammedan  truths  con- 
cerning God  in  these  Psalms,  but  elaborated 
and  vivified.  A  man  whose  enjoyment  of 
music  has  been  fed  by  a  village  band  of  six 
brass  instruments  is  struck  dumb  when  he 
hears  for  the  first  time  the  orchestra  in  a 
great  opera  house.  The  Koran  has  a 
splendid  rhetoric,  beauty  in  some  of  its  devo- 
tional passages,  and  the  rhythm  of  its  sonorous 


The  Book  103 

diction  is  a  standing  challenge  to  imitators. 
But  the  words  of  the  Bible  are  alive,  and 
Selim  felt  that  their  yearning  sympathy  for 
erring^  and  needy  men  the  Koran  meant  to 
express  but  did  not. 

He  had  a  right  to  add  to  his  knowledge  of 
God  from  any  source,  and  it  did  not  occur  to 
him  that  his  own  people  would  call  him  a 
traitor  to  Islam  for  reading  the  Bible.  So 
when  he  was  about  to  go  back  to  his  family 
he  asked  Mirza  Rustem  to  sell  him  the  Bible 
to  take  with  him.  For  he  had  found  wisdom 
there. 

**  Oh,  no,"  said  Rustem.  "  I  cannot  give 
you  this  book.  I  do  not  yet  know  it.  Al- 
though I  have  never  seen  a  man  who  knows 
more  about  it  than  I  do,  they  say  there  are 
people  who  live  by  it,  and  some  day  I  may 
meet  one  of  those  people  who  can  teach  me 
more." 

The  Fire-worshipper,  like  Selim,  was  a 
groping  seeker.  As  one  traveller  offers  to 
another  road-wisdom,  Rustem  said  to  Selim, 
**  We  have  spent  our  time  together  in  reading 
truths  about  God  which  we  find  in  the  Psalms 
and  the  Prophets.  You  had  best  read  the 
New  Testament  also,  to  find  the  noblest  ideas 
about  manliness  which  have  ever  been  writ- 
ten." 


104  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

"But  to  what  profit?  They  do  not  suit 
this  world.  Jesus  Christ  failed  in  His  mis- 
sion."^ 

"The  question  with  me,"  replied  the  Mirza, 
"  is  about  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  Did  He  fail  ? 
Both  Muslims  and  Christians  beUeve  that  He 
ascended  to  heaven  whence  He  is  to  return. 
That  is  to  say  He  lives.  When  He  was  on 
earth  He  could  heal  the  sick  and  even  raised 
the  dead.  I  have  a  hope  that  He  has  power 
also  ^to  heal  the  soul  which  is  growing  worse 
and  worse.  Perhaps  He  can  purify  the  heart. 
The  foreigners  at  Urumia  live,  they  say,  ac- 
cording to  His  words  ;  they  might  explain 
many  things.  I  cannot  go  there,  but  if  you 
will  go  to  Urumia  and  find  the  foreigners  who 
wear  black  hats  and  live  white  lives,  I  think, 
from  what  I  hear,  that  they  will  help  you  un- 
derstand, besides  giving  you  a  Bible  to  take 
with  you." 

Selim  went  nearly  a  hundred  miles  out  of 
his  homeward  way  to  reach  Urumia.  But  he 
thought  it  not  far  to  go  for  the  sake  of  get- 
ting that  wonderful  book,  and  instruction  how 
to  cleanse  the  heart.  His  future  would  rest 
on  this  journey. 

In  Urumia  he  asked  where  he  could  find 
the  foreigners  who  wear  black  hats  and  teach 
religion.     The  Persian  Mohammedan  whom 


The  Book  105 

he  questioned  told  him  the  place  with  sur- 
prise. "  These  men  preach,"  he  added,  **  but 
no  matter  how  large  the  congregation  the 
preacher  can  tell  only  what  he  knows.  These 
men  know  nothing  at  all  about  the  Koran  ; 
what  can  they  tell  a  Muslim  ?  As  for  me,  I 
say  let  the  snake  that  doesn't  bite  me  live  a 
thousand  years,  but  I  will  live  somewhere 
else.  You  can  do  as  you  choose.  Or  per- 
haps," he  added,  "  they  owe  you  money  ?" 

Selim  thanked  the  Persian  for  his  informa- 
tion, but  did  not  enlighten  him  about  his 
financial  interests.  His  reticence  on  this 
point  the  Persian  ascribed  to  Selim's  secta- 
rian snobbishness,  and  moved  away  with  a 
fresh  grievance  against  Turkish  Muslims  who 
do  not  accept  the  preeminence  of  the  Caliph 
Ali. 

In  the  morning,  exulting  in  his  easy  suc- 
cess, Selim  went  to  the  house  which  had  been 
pointed  out  to  him,  behind  the  public  bath. 
Two  or  three  men  in  the  blue  dress  of  Nes- 
torian  peasants  were  in  the  little  court.  They 
looked  at  him  apprehensively.  A  man  in  his 
shirt  sleeves  (which  were  surprisingly  white) 
did  not  look  up  from  his  work.  He  was  fit- 
ting a  cover  to  a  box,  measuring  and  sawing 
and  finally  nailing  the  boards  in  place  so 
quickly  and  accurately  that  Selim,  seeing  that 


io6  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

he  was  a  carpenter,  turned  away  to  seek  some 
one  else  of  whom  he  might  inquire  for  the 
master  of  the  house.  In  Persia  religious 
teachers  do  not  saw  boards  and  nail  box- 
covers.  As  he  drove  home  the  last  nail  the 
workman  noticed  Selim  and  straightening 
himself,  hammer  in  hand,  bade  him  welcome 
in  rather  rough  Turkish. 

It  was  like  picking  out  a  tangle  of  yarn  for 
Selim  to  grasp  the  fact  that  the  man  with 
sweaty  face  and  soiled  hands  was  the  great 
teacher  of  religion  whom  he  had  expected  to 
find  enthroned  like  Sheikh  Abdullah  in  the 
midst  of  devoted  followers  who  would  think 
it  shamefully  wrong  to  let  their  teacher  lift 
his  hand  to  work.  But  Mr.  Barlow,  for  that 
was  the  missionary's  name,  smiled  so  pleas- 
antly, and  invited  him  into  the  house  so  cor- 
dially, and  led  the  way  so  persuasively,  that 
Selim  found  himself,  before  he  knew  it,  in  a 
bright,  cheerful  room  seated  in  the  place  of 
honour  in  the  corner  of  the  divan. 

Mr.  Barlow  could  understand  neither  Per- 
sian nor  Arabic,  and  knew  very  little  Turkish. 
He  had  come  to  Persia  to  teach  the  Nesto- 
rians  and  had  put  all  his  strength  into  the  task 
of  mastering  the  Syriac  language.  In  a  for- 
eign Babel  a  missionary  can  only  keep  his 
head  above  water  by  concentrating  upon  one 


The  Book  107 

of  the  many  tongues.  So  poor  Selim  quickly 
saw  that  he  could  get  no  instruction  from  this 
new  friend  whose  Turkish  limped,  and  whose 
Syriac  fluency  was  meaningless  to  a  Kurd. 
When  Mr.  Barlow  finally  learned  that  Selim 
wanted  a  Bible  he  regretfully  replied  that  he 
had  only  Syriac  Bibles.  There  were  mission- 
aries at  Mosul  who  spoke  Arabic  and  they 
had  Arabic  Bibles.  He  was  quite  sure  that 
Selim  would  find  both  Bible  and  interpreter 
if  he  would  go  to  Mosul.  Now  Mosul  is  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Urumia ! 

Selim  was  bitterly  disappointed.  But  Mrs. 
Barlow  just  here  remembered  an  old  Bible 
that  no  one  seemed  to  understand  or  want. 
Perhaps  that  was  Arabic.  It  was  a  large, 
dusty  volume  which  she  brought  out  from  the 
depths  of  a  closet.  Selim  at  once  said,  *'  No, 
that  is  not  the  book.  The  one  I  want  is  a 
smaller  book.     I  want  a  Bible." 

"  There  is  but  one  Bible,"  said  Mr.  BarIow\ 
"  The  bigness  of  the  book  has  nothing  to  do 
with  its  teachings.  See,  this  is  a  Bible  too," 
and  he  took  from  the  table  a  well-worn 
pocket  Bible  in  English.  **  If  you  can  read 
that  one  you  can  read  just  what  I  read  in 
this." 

Selim  opened  the  great  and  heavy  book. 
"  Why,  this  is  Arabic,"  he  said.     **  Yes,  I  can 


lo8  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

read  this.  But  does  this  book  say,  '  Blessed 
are  the  pure  in  heart'?  " 

Mr.  Barlow  did  not  know  the  Arabic  letters 
nor  even  the  numerals  now  used.  He  turned 
to  the  beginning  of  the  New  Testament  and 
counted  the  chapters.  At  the  fifth  chapter  he 
pointed  with  his  finger  to  the  short  verses  of 
the  Beatitudes. 

Selim  looked  eagerly  at  the  place  and  read 
the  Arabic  words  aloud.  "Yes,"  he  said, 
"that  is  the  Book.  Will  you  sell  it  to 
me?" 

Mr.  Barlow  immediately  gave  it  to  him. 

When  Selim  said  in  acknowledgment 
much  more  than  Mr.  Barlow  could  under- 
stand, he  took  the  heavy  book  in  his  hands. 
Perplexity  appeared  in  every  line  of  his  face. 
He  suddenly  realized  that  he  could  not  carry 
such  a  weight,  for  he  became  foot-weary 
carrying  merely  his  little  bag  of  clothes  and 
the  cloak  that  served  as  his  bed  at  night. 

"  I  travel  on  foot,"  he  said.  "  I  cannot  carry 
the  book  ;  it  is  too  big.  But  will  you  be  angry 
if  I  cut  it?" 

Mr.  Barlow  looked  inquiringly  into  the 
frank  face  of  the  young  man.  He  controlled 
his  mouth  which  twitched  at  the  thought  of 
dividing  a  Bible  with  a  cleaver,  like  a  piece 
of  meat   which   is  larger  than  the  traveller 


The  Book  109 

cares  to  burden  himself  with.  "  Why,  yes," 
he  said,  **  cut  it  up  if  you  wish." 

"  You  won't  be  angry  ?  You  know  I  mean 
no  disrespect  to  the  book?" 

"  I  would  be  glad  if  you  could  read  it  all," 
said  Mr.  Barlow  ;  **  but  I  have  no  objection  to 
your  cutting  out  what  you  can  carry." 

Selim  drew  his  dirk  from  his  girdle,  cut 
out  the  book  of  Psalms  because  of  its 
prayers,  cut  out  the  book  of  Daniel  because 
its  writer  was  wise  in  magic  and  lived  in  the 
land  of  his  own  ancestors,  and  cut  out  the 
three  leaves  of  the  New  Testament  contain- 
ing the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  **  I  want  to 
be  pure  in  heart ;  I  want  to  see  God,"  he  said 
to  Mr.  Barlow. 

**  By  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
you  shall  see  Him,"  said  Mr.  Barlow  in  a 
husky  voice. 

With  this  benediction  Selim  began  a  new 
chapter  of  experience.  The  next  morning  he 
started  for  Mosul  to  find  a  Bible  that  he 
could  carry,  and  the  men  with  the  black  hats 
who  could  help  him  understand  its  lessons. 
Although  as  firm  a  Muslim  as  ever,  he  felt 
that  without  the  Book  he  could  not  live. 


IX 

THE  TOY  OF  FATE 

ALONG  a  rough  narrow  road  with  a 
huge  rocky  cliff  on  the  left,  and  on 
the  right  the  Zab  River  grumbling 
and  roaring  and  tearing  at  its  rocky  bed,  a 
battalion  of  Turkish  soldiers  was  marching 
from  Rowanduz  towards  Mosul.  The  road 
was  rocky  with  big  stones  for  stumblers,  little 
stones  set  in  holes  to  catch  the  feet,  round 
stones  polished  to  slipperiness,  and  pointed 
stones  that  seemed  to  wrench  all  the  muscles 
at  once.  It  was  no  more  fit  for  a  military 
march  than  the  bed  of  a  torrent.  Built  by 
skilled  engineers  for  strategic  uses,  it  had 
been  left  to  its  fate.  The  marching  troops 
blamed  fate  for  their  discomfort ;  they  should 
have  blamed  the  fat  man  riding  near  the 
head  of  the  column,  or  his  superiors. 

The  soldiers  were  otherwise  afflicted  by 
the  slackness  of  their  chiefs.  The  day  was 
three  years  past  when  new  uniforms  had 
been  due.  Their  dark  blue  coats  were  white 
on  the  seams  and  ragged  in  the  skirts. 
no 


The  Toy  of  Fate  in 

Strips  of  red  braid  fluttered  where  once  had 
been  smart  pipings.  The  red  fez  caps  of  the 
men  were  bleached  and  rent  and  bound  to 
their  heads  by  painted  handkerchiefs  faded 
to  a  neutral  tint.  Cotton  rags  were  wrapped 
about  their  legs  and  feet ;  for  shoes  they 
wore  the  coarse  rawhide  sandals  of  the  peas- 
antry. In  place  of  knapsacks  they  carried 
shapeless  cotton  bags  stufied  with  meagre 
belongings,  residues  of  a  useful  equipment. 
The  only  tokens  that  might  suggest  the  con- 
nection of  these  tatterdemalions  with  an  or- 
ganized army  were  their  guns  and  the  bayo- 
nets that  rattled  and  jingled  against  the  tin- 
ware of  their  cooking  outfits.  In  the  grum- 
bling discussions  of  the  march  they  laid  the 
blame  of  their  rags  to  fate.  But  these  rags 
like  the  road  were  merely  exhibits  of  the  fact 
that  forethought  and  initiative  are  not,  while 
sloth  and  slackness  are  elements  of  the  Ori- 
ental character. 

The  column  came  out  from  the  shadow  of 
the  great  cliff  and  entered  a  grassy  meadow 
by  the  side  of  the  noisy  river.  At  the  call  of 
a  bugle  the  troops  halted,  threw  themselves 
with  their  guns  upon  the  grass,  and  hastened 
to  eat  a  very  frugal  lunch. 

By  a  rock  on  the  river  bank,  stretched  upon 
the  grass,  lay  a  man  upon  whom  even  the 


112  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

ragged  soldiers  could  look  as  a  pitiable  cari- 
cature of  humanity.  A  soiled  white  cotton 
shirt  and  drawers  covered  his  body.  His 
feet  were  bare.  On  his  head  was  a  pointed 
cap  that  had  once  been  white.  His  face  was 
gaunt  and  haggard.  Mountains  are  not  kind 
to  men  who  journey  among  them  shoeless 
and  without  tents. 

One  of  the  soldiers  noticing  this  miserable 
figure  shouted :  **  Why,  there's  our  Selim ! 
How  are  you,  Selim?  Haven't  you  found 
your  shoes  yet  ?  ** 

"  Never  mind,"  cried  another ;  "  Selim  is 
going  to  Mosul.  At  Mosul  shoes  grow  on 
bushes.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  reach  them 
down." 

At  this  the  soldiers  laughed.  Even  poor 
Selim  tried  to  smile,  though  his  forces  were 
too  much  spent  for  successful  effort  of  this 
kind. 

A  round-faced  soldier  with  high  cheek 
bones,  and  eyes  aslant  like  a  Tatar,  was  eat- 
ing a  watermelon  which  he  shared  with  two 
or  three  of  his  chums.  He  held  out  a  gen- 
erous portion  impaled  on  the  point  of  his 
knife,  saying,  "  Here,  Selim,  do  you  like 
melon  ?  " 

Selim  was  nearly  starved.  He  tottered 
feebly  like  an  old  man  towards  the  soldier. 


The  Toy  of  Fate  113 

He  had  stretched  out  his  hand  to  take  the 
rosy  morsel  of  sweetness  and  his  eyes  gHt- 
tered  in  anticipation  when  suddenly  the  sol- 
dier drew  back  his  hand  and  thrust  the  piece 
of  melon  into  his  own  mouth,  his  fat  face  ex- 
panding with  the  grin  of  a  devil  who  has 
trapped  a  saint.  The  soldiers  roared.  Selim, 
angrily  snapping  out,  **  God  grant  that  it  may 
choke  you !  "  went  back  to  his  rock  and  lay 
down  with  his  back  to  his  tormentors.  An- 
other soldier  flung  a  piece  of  bread  at  the 
Kurd,  knocking  off  his  felt  cap.  Selim  sprang 
up  as  if  to  charge  the  whole  battalion.  Then 
seeing  the  bread,  he  clutched  it  and  ate  like 
a  tramp's  dog.  It  was  his  first  food  in 
twenty-four  hours. 

After  lunch  the  bugle  called  the  soldiers  to 
prayers.  They  were  lined  up  to  their  devo- 
tions by  command,  as  if  it  were  a  part  of 
their  drill.  Selim,  drawn  to  worship  by  habit 
and  for  fellowship,  stood  up  with  the  soldiers. 
When  the  four  *'  rounds  "  of  the  litany  were 
done,  the  bugle  sounded,  the  slovenly  soldiers 
pulled  themselves  together,  and  took  up  their 
march  with  the  dragging  shuffle  peculiar  to 
farm  hands  who  have  never  been  taught  to 
keep  step.  The  disreputable  column,  with 
its  pack  train  of  half-starved  mules  and 
donkeys,  disappeared  in  the  winding  valley 


114  ^  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

of  the  rushing  river.  Selim  remained  alone, 
by  his  rock. 

Selim' s  experiences  since  setting  out  for 
Mosul  had  been  of  the  class  which  we  ascribe 
to  fate,  because  it  is  not  pleasant  to  admit 
blind  thoughtlessness.  He  had  started  on 
his  journey  with  no  more  precise  goal  than  a 
foreigner  at  Mosul  wearing  a  black  hat.  He 
had  chosen  a  short  cut  through  the  moun- 
tains in  order  quickly  to  reach  his  destination  ; 
but  he  had  left  out  of  his  plan  the  people  who 
live  in  those  savage  mountains.  They  are 
mostly  Nestorians,  ignorant  and  rough  as  the 
Kurds  whom  they  fear  and  cordially  hate. 
He  had  not  thought!  On  that  road  there 
were  no  Mohammedan  towns  where  he  could 
linger,  as  was  his  wont,  to  earn  money  for 
his  journey  by  writing  mottoes.  The  uni- 
versal hospitality  to  travellers  among  the 
mountain  Nestorians  excludes  Kurds.  Selim 
had  to  plead  and  beg  before  he  got  even  a 
swallow  of  milk  given  with  the  suspicion  that 
holds  the  Nestorian's  hand  to  his  yataghan 
when  he  meets  a  Kurd.  Selim  had  not  re- 
membered this.  What  little  money  he  had 
was  quickly  used  up  in  buying  shelter  for  the 
night  in  cow  stables. 

At  Rowanduz  Selim  fared  better.  There 
he  earned  a  little  money  by  his  skill  in  writ- 


The  Toy  of  Fate  115 

ing  and  by  casting  horoscopes.  His  skill 
brought  him  the  acquaintance  of  Colonel  All 
Bey,  commanding  a  battalion  under  orders 
to  march  to  Mosul.  With  him  Selim  had  dis- 
cussed Persian  poetry  and  Arabian  theology, 
and  so  had  been  invited  to  travel  with  the 
troops.  Food,  protection  and  shelter  at 
night  were  thus  provided  ;  but  Selim  had  not 
foreseen  that  his  treasured  pages  of  the  Bible 
might  attract  attention.  Here  again  his  own 
recklessness  became  his  fate. 

On  the  second  day  out  from  Rowanduz, 
during  the  noon  rest,  Selim  wandered  off  to 
bathe  in  the  river.  Having  sufficiently  re- 
freshed himself  he  went  up  the  bank  to  put 
on  his  clothes  ;  but  meanwhile  some  one  had 
carried  ofi  his  cloak,  his  bag  of  clothing  with 
the  precious  pages  cut  from  the  Bible,  his 
trousers,  his  turban,  his  girdle,  his  finely 
etched  dirk,  his  shoes — all  his  possessions  ex- 
cept his  conical  felt  cap  and  his  shirt.  These 
had  been  left  as  worthless  or  from  sheer  mercy 
which  should  be  noted  to  the  credit  of  the 
thief.  Happily  he  had  worn  his  white  cotton 
drawers  into  the  water.  The  lowest  of  tramps 
in  that  land  might  dress  as  he  was  dressed 
after  this  dreadful  blow  of  fortune ! 

When  the  unlucky  traveller  reached  the 
camp  that   evening   he   was   jeered   by  the 


li6  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

soldiers :  "  Did  you  forget  to  dress  this  morn- 
ing ? "  "  Have  you  stripped  for  a  fight  ? 
Come  on  ! "  "  He  knows  that  we  have  to 
ford  the  river  day  after  to-morrow  and 
thought  it  best  to  get  ready  at  once." 

Selim  went  straight  to  the  tent  of  the 
Colonel,  where  several  officers  were  lounging 
by  the  camp-fire.  He  saluted  as  usual,  for- 
getting, like  most  sons  of  misfortune,  the 
point  of  view  of  others.  The  Colonel  scowled 
at  him  and  shouted,  "  What  do  you  mean  by 
coming  here  like  that  ?     Clear  out ! " 

"  Pardon  me,  sir,  I  am  the  scribe  Selim  to 
whom  you  were  so  kind  in  Rowanduz. 
They  have  stolen  my  clothes  and  I  just 
wanted  to  ask  if  you  would  kindly  let  me 
have  a  cloak  or  a  horse  blanket  to  sleep  on 
until  we  reach  Mosul." 

*'  This  is  not  a  Jew  clothesman's  shop.  Get 
out  of  here!  Mustapha!  Ahmed!  where 
are  you  ?  " 

Selim  did  not  wait  for  strong-arm  men  to 
throw  him  out.  That  night,  hungry,  hopeless 
and  shivering,  he  lay  on  the  ground  with  a 
low  clump  of  juniper  as  a  wind-break  to 
lessen  his  sleepless  misery.  His  very  breath 
seemed  a  calamity  !  Selim  felt  that  he  had 
not  deserved  this.  He  had  imagined  the 
Book  to  be  the  end  of  difficulty  in  his  quest ; 


The  Toy  of  Fate  117 

but  cold  and  hunger  outweighed  the  Book. 
**  It  is  enough,  let  me  die,  O  Lord,"  was  his 
prayer.  Even  the  leaves  of  the  Bible,  for 
which  he  had  walked  in  weariness  day  after 
day,  had  been  taken  from  him !  Sooner  or 
later  he  must  give  up  his  notion  of  learning 
and  growing.  He  might  as  well  be  content 
with  the  rules  of  the  tribe  :  Go  the  way  of  all 
flesh  and  be  at  ease  ;  get  what  you  can  ;  keep 
what  you  get ;  and  pray  that  your  death  may 
be  on  a  Friday. 

Then  a  thought  came  to  the  poor  fellow : 
Perhaps  Colonel  Ali  Bey  was  a  bigot  and 
had  caused  him  to  be  robbed  for  the  sake  of 
getting  the  Bible  leaves  away  from  him. 
The  robber  must  have  been  a  soldier,  since 
neither  tent  nor  hut  was  on  that  useless  road. 
This  thought  turned  the  current  of  his  repin- 
ings  into  fury  against  the  Colonel,  with  vain 
plotting  of  revenge  for  his  cruel  treatment. 
The  only  retaliation  that  he  could  take  would 
be  to  hold  to  his  purpose  of  seeking  the  Bible 
teacherso  This  would  deprive  the  Colonel  of 
glory  in  his  success  in  wresting  the  Book 
from  the  hands  of  the  Free-thinker.  With 
such  weak,  foolish  thoughts  Selim  wrestled 
as  he  lay  shivering  by  the  juniper  bush  until 
dawn. 

The  next  day  he  followed  the  soldiers  at  a 


1 18  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

distance.  He  carefully  searched  their  de- 
serted camp  and  found  a  few  bits  of  bread 
that  had  been  thrown  away.  At  one  place 
he  saw  some  black  ants  marching  like  ener- 
getic and  smart  troopers,  each  carrying  aloft 
a  broken  kernel  of  wheat,  with  others  return- 
ing empty  along  their  narrow  trail  for  another 
load.  Then  following  a  sudden  thought  he 
trailed  the  returning  ants  to  their  plunder 
and  found  as  much  as  two  handfuls  of  cracked 
wheat  spilt  from  some  soldier's  provision  bag. 
He  carefully  gathered  every  particle,  leaving 
the  ants  in  active  perplexity  about  the  mys- 
teriously vanished  provender.  He  writhed 
under  this  last  thrust  of  misfortune  which 
made  him  envious  of  ants  ;  but  he  did  not 
see  that  his  own  carelessness  was  the  cause 
of  his  troubles. 

Now,  lying  by  the  rock  where  the  soldiers 
had  left  him,  Selim  found  the  lure  of  home 
gradually  controlling  his  impulses.  Like  the 
young  scapegrace  in  the  parable  of  the 
prodigal,  he  kept  returning  to  the  thought, 
*'  How  many  hired  servants  in  my  father's 
house  have  bread  and  to  spare,  while  I  perish 
with  hunger  1  "  One  day's  tramp  through 
the  mountains  to  the  southeast  ought  to  take 
him  to  Khoi  Sanjak  where  he  would  find 
plenty   among  the  Kurds  of  his  own  tribe. 


The  Toy  of  Fate  119 

They  would  supply  him  every  comfort  for 
travelling  to  the  Kurd's  Bed,  where  by  this 
time  Hassan  Bey  must  have  established  his 
camp  for  the  summer.  What  are  kith  and 
kin  for  but  to  rally  to  the  side  of  him  who  is 
in  joy  or  grief?  On  the  other  hand,  two 
days'  journey,  or  at  the  most  three,  to  the 
westward,  would  take  him  to  Mosul.  Whom 
was  he  to  seek  in  that  great  city  ?  Why  go 
there  at  all?  How  could  he  venture  un- 
clothed as  he  was  into  a  city  ? 

All  his  life  this  young  fellow  had  been 
accustomed  to  reach  out  and  clutch  what- 
ever his  heart  desired.  Now  the  old  blind 
love  of  easy  ways  strove  like  a  demon  to 
turn  him  back  to  his  mother.  His  thoughts 
fluttered  like  summer  birds,  now  to  the  right, 
now  to  the  left,  now  high  overhead.  He 
wished  that  he  might  read  with  his  own  eyes 
that  Psalm  of  the  Shepherd  ;  that  he  might 
restore  his  soul  by  other  tonic  passages  of 
the  Bible.  **The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I 
shall  not  want."  Is  hunger  and  nakedness 
so  trivial  as  to  be  winked  at  in  the  promise 
of  this  Psalm  ?  What  if  that  longing  search 
for  the  knowledge  of  God,  those  fervent 
prayers  for  guidance,  were  mere  dreams  that 
pass  in  the  night  ?  Was  he  not  after  all  a 
mere  toy  of  fate  ?     One  thing  was  certain  :  in 


1 20  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

three  days  he  might,  if  he  chose,  have  all  his 
wants  supplied  by  a  loving  mother's  hand. 
Yet  he  still  despised  that  life  of  expedients 
and  hollow  formulas.  After  tasting  freedom 
could  he  endure  the  tyranny  of  his  Muslim 
censors  ?  At  this  point  he  began  to  perceive 
that  his  own  carelessness  was  an  element  in 
his  misfortunes.  If  he  had  only  planned  a 
little! 

This  destitute  young  man  was  to  fix  the 
direction  of  his  whole  life  as  he  lay  half- 
naked  and  hungry  in  the  gorge  of  the  Zab. 
Decision  came  to  him  when  there  drifted 
into  his  mind  some  curious  words  which 
Mirza  Rustem  had  read  to  him  from  the 
Bible  as  illustrating  the  effect  upon  men  of 
old  of  true  faith  in  God.  **  They  wandered 
about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins ;  being 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented,  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy  ;  they  wandered  in 
deserts  and  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves 
of  the  earth."  Those  men  and  women  en- 
dured because  they  believed  Him  whom  they 
trusted.  He  surely  could  endure  for  the 
sake  of  learning  about  God.  Selim  stiffly 
arose  to  his  feet.  **  I  will  go,"  he  said,  "to 
Mosul  to  see  those  teachers  from  the  foreign 
land.  Then  I  shall  know  what  to  do.  If 
then  I  still  wish  to  go  back,  I  can  do  so." 


li 


The  Toy  of  Fate  121 

Standing  by  the  river  with  its  hoarse  mon- 
otonous voice  roaring  in  his  ears,  Selim 
washed  his  face,  his  hands,  and  his  feet. 
Then  with  the  grass  for  a  prayer  rug,  he  re- 
cited the  regular  litany  of  Mohammedan 
worship,  bowing,  kneeling  humbly,  bringing 
his  forehead  to  the  ground  in  guileless  adora- 
tion. An  aching  heart  throbbed  in  every 
word  of  the  prayer  that  he  loved,  *'  Guide  me 
in  the  straight  way,  the  way  of  those  to 
whom  thou  hast  been  gracious."  To  him 
that  worship  was  a  vow  to  trust,  and  to  press 
his  seeking  for  vision  of  the  Living  God. 
Having  made  the  vow  he  went  his  way. 


THE  FOREIGNER  WITH  A  BLACK  HAT 

SELIM'S  really  noble  decision  in  the 
gorge  of  the  Zab  was  taken  in  a  heroic 
spirit,  yet  he  did  not  foresee  that  it 
committed  him  to  at  least  one  tremendous 
battle.  All  that  he  realized  was  that  because 
of  his  hearty  wish  to  do  right  in  the  sight  of 
God  he  might  not  look  back  to  the  leeks  and 
onions  of  the  life  in  which  he  was  born.  His 
decision,  which  rested  on  the  Bible  principle 
of  the  necessity  of  doing  right,  was  in  con- 
flict with  a  cardinal  principle  of  Islam,  which 
regards  doing  right  as  a  mere  matter  of  ex- 
pediency or  individual  convenience.  His 
decision  committed  him  to  a  study  of  the 
Bible  which  sooner  or  later  must  reveal  its 
conflict  with  the  doctrines  as  well  as  the 
moral  principles  of  his  religion.  An  up- 
heaval of  the  solid  ground  beneath  his  feet 
awaited  him  after  he  allowed  the  Mosul  road 
to  lead  him  over  the  Zab. 

In  a  region  of  bunglers  such  as  inhabit 
the  Turkish  province  he  now  entered,  the  fel- 
lowship  of  failure  binds  the  poor  together. 

122 


The  Foreigner  With  a  Black  Hat   123 

Among  people  almost  as  destitute  as  himself 
Selim  had  bread  and  milk  or  even  cheese  for 
the  asking.  One  village  of  mud  huts  gave 
him  a  pair  of  old  sandals  to  ease  his  battered 
feet.  At  another  village  where  he  led  the 
evening  worship,  and  recited  the  first  Psalm 
from  memory,  the  simple  people  revered  him 
as  a  saint  for  these  good  words,  and  the  head 
man  of  the  village  gave  him  an  old  and 
rather  ragged  cloak  to  lie  on  at  night,  telling 
him  to  take  it  with  him  when  he  went  away. 
At  an  encampment  of  four  Kurdish  tents, 
the  people  insisted  on  his  accepting  a  pair  of 
worn  trousers  and  a  jacket.  Upon  his  hesi- 
tating to  receive  from  people  so  poor,  the 
shepherds  quoted  to  him  a  proverb  of  the 
desert :  ''  Man's  flesh  cannot  be  eaten,  his 
hair  cannot  be  woven  into  cloth,  his  skin 
cannot  be  tanned  for  leather ;  of  what  use  is 
he  unless  he  helps  his  fellows  ?  '* 

By  the  time  that  Selim,  near  the  broken 
mounds  of  Nineveh,  came  to  the  dusty  dome 
known  as  the  tomb  of  the  prophet  Jonah, 
whence  he  could  see  beyond  the  Tigris  the 
city  that  was  his  goal,  his  courage  was  re- 
stored and  he  was  elated,  for  in  Mosul  was 
the  foreigner  with  a  black  hat  who  would 
give  him  a  Bible  and  interpret  it  to  him  in 
terms  of  the  daily  life. 


124  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

The  flotsam  and  jetsam  from  the  maraud- 
ing forays  of  centuries  still  appear  on  the 
road  to  the  Tigris  Bridge  at  Mosul.  The 
blood  of  many  nations  mingles  in  the  veins 
of  the  well-to-do  dwellers  in  that  city.  Per- 
haps some  day  science  may  identify,  as  it 
does  bacilli,  the  ingredients  of  blood  corpus- 
cles— this  corpuscle  as  showing  traces  of 
the  Assyrians  of  Shalmaneser,  that  as  from 
Nebuchadnezzar's  Babylonian  finest,  another 
as  betraying  descent  from  the  Parthians  of 
Darius,  and  yet  others  as  related  to  the  mys- 
terious Hittites,  to  the  romantic  Greeks  of 
Alexander's  phalanxes,  to  lithe  camp-follow- 
ers from  India,  to  the  commercial  Nabathe- 
ans,  to  the  luxurious  Persians  of  Chosroes, 
or  to  the  heavy-handed  Tatars  of  Jenghiz 
Khan.  As  might  be  expected  from  one 
gifted  by  heredity  with  a  perplexing  mixture 
of  blood,  the  citizen  of  Mosul,  as  he  saunters 
along  in  his  red,  blue,  or  buflF  robe,  looks  as 
if  he  were  surfeited  with  life's  experiences. 
But  he  is  also  liable  on  occasion  to  revert  to 
any  one  of  a  score  of  ancestral  types  which 
bring  dismay  to  the  bystander. 

While  strolling  along  that  road  one  day, 
Selim  suddenly  stopped,  with  the  ejaculation, 
*'  Glory  to  God  ! "  Coming  towards  him  was 
a  foreigner  carrying  a  large  umbrella  and 


The  Foreigner  With  a  Black  Hat    1 25 

wearing  a  broad-brimmed,  low-crowned  black 
hat.  This  was  the  man  of  whom  he  was  in 
search !  His  kindly  face  made  that  certain. 
Mohammedans  seldom  trouble  themselves 
with  the  difference  between  sects  of  Chris- 
tians, and  Selim  had  no  doubts  at  this  point. 
Through  the  narrow,  dirty  streets  he  followed 
the  foreigner.  He  tried  to  invent  excuses 
for  speaking  to  him,  and  quickened  his  walk. 
He  checked  his  pace,  for  he  had  nothing  to 
say.  The  foreigner  stopped  at  a  large  stone 
house  in  a  narrow  alley,  and  was  about  to 
enter  the  open  door.  Selim  feared  lest  he 
lose  him,  and  almost  shouting,  said,  "  Peace 
be  to  you,  sir." 

The  foreigner  returned  the  salutation  in  a 
pleasant  voice,  in  very  good  Arabic,  adding, 
"  What  is  your  pleasure,  sir?  " 

"  Are  you  the  man  who  has  come  from 
abroad  to  teach  your  religion  ?  " 

*'  Why  do  you  ask  ?  Are  you  not  a  Mo- 
hammedan ? " 

"  Yes,  I  am  a  Mohammedan  and  I  am  a 
seeker  for  the  knowledge  of  God.  Perhaps 
your  excellency  will  help  my  search  after  wis- 
dom." 

The  foreigner  muttered,  "  Sanctissima  Ma- 
donna "  ;  for  he  suspected  some  trick  or  trap, 
since  Mohammedans  do  not  address  Chris- 


1 26  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

tians  in  that  way.  Nevertheless,  with  polite 
cordiality  he  invited  SeUm  into  the  house  and 
ushered  him  into  a  little  reception-room  by 
the  door.  On  learning  that  the  young  man 
was  a  Kurd  the  missionary  showed  more  in- 
terest ;  but  when  he  found  that  this  Kurd  in- 
sisted on  his  wish  to  learn  how  to  draw  near 
to  God,  he  excused  himself  a  moment  in  order 
to  consult  his  colleagues.  Returning  after  a 
few  moments  he  asked  Selim  whether  he  had 
permission  to  inquire  into  such  matters.  This 
surprised  Selim,  and  the  missionary  explained 
that  foreigners  have  to  be  rather  careful  not 
to  give  offense  by  what  they  do.  '*  How- 
ever," he  added,  **a  service  is  about  to  begin 
in  the  church,  and  if  you  would  like  to  wit- 
ness it,  we  can  talk  more  after  it  is  over." 

Calling  an  attendant  the  missionary  told 
him  to  see  that  Selim  had  a  good  place  in  the 
church,  and  then  he  himself  went  into  the 
sacristy.  Going  through  a  short  passage- 
way they  came  out  into  a  large  room  with  a 
high  ceiling.  It  was  rather  dark  and  though 
many  candles  were  burning  it  was  not  easy 
to  see  clearly.  The  window  glass  was  of 
bright  colours  and  the  most  of  the  candles 
were  grouped  at  one  end  of  the  room  on  a 
raised  platform.  Selim  was  given  a  cushion 
on  the  floor  on  which  to  sit.     He  found  him- 


The  Foreigner  With  a  Black  Hat   127 

self  surrounded  by  men  and  women  whom 
their  dress  showed  to  be  Christians.  They 
seemed  to  shrink  from  the  white  turbaned 
MusHm. 

Selim  now  discovered  through  the  curious 
hesitations  of  the  missionary  a  new  aspect  of 
his  enterprise.  He  had  learned  to  like  the 
Bible  opened  to  him  with  suggestions  and 
comments  by  Mirza  Rustem,  who  was  a  neu- 
tral bystander,  so  to  speak,  while  the  men  to 
whom  he  must  look  in  Mosul  were  aggressive 
champions  of  Christianity.  They  believed 
that  their  teachings  would  make  him  cast  off 
his  faith  in  Mohammed,  a  thing  which  had 
never  entered  his  head.  The  thought  made 
him  shudder.  His  presence  in  that  Christian 
church  compromised  him. 

A  beautiful  chant  now  called  for  his  atten- 
tion, as  a  procession  of  acolytes  and  priests 
entered  the  church,  a  boy  carrying  a  great 
gold  cross  in  front,  others  swinging  censers, 
while  the  sweet  music  of  the  chorale  and  the 
deep  tones  of  the  organ  filled  the  Kurd  with 
wonder  and  a  strange  delight.  For  an  in- 
stant Selim  thought  that  this  delight  was  like 
that  which  had  come  to  him  in  the  Nakish- 
bendi  hall  of  worship  in  Kerkuk  when  he  was 
in  a  trance  through  long  repetition  of  the 
phrase  of  the  unity  of  God. 


1 28  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

Again  his  mind  was  captured ;  the  priests 
took  their  places  at  the  sides  of  the  chancel 
and  the  litany  was  said  in  some  unknown 
tongue.  A  feeling  of  disappointment  came 
over  the  Mohammedan  seeker,  for  nothing 
in  the  service  carried  meaning  to  his  mind, 
and  he  had  a  vague  notion  that  these  priests  in 
their  splendid  robes  were  not  men  for  common 
mortals  to  reach  with  ignorant  questions. 

A  man  with  a  prayer-book  sitting  next  to 
Selim  held  his  book  so  that  the  stranger 
could  look  over  it.  One  page  was  in  some 
unknown  tongue,  but  the  opposite  page  was 
Arabic.  The  man  turned  over  some  pages 
as  a  single  voice  began  to  read  from  a  huge 
volume.  As  Selim  looked  at  the  book  again 
he  was  thrilled  to  see  there  in  Arabic  his 
Shepherd's  Wallet  of  Comfort — the  twenty- 
third  Psalm.  Many  weeks  had  passed  since 
he  had  lost  his  precious  leaves  of  the  Psalms. 
So  much  the  more  glad  was  he  to  see  that 
Psalm  in  this  book.  His  position  cleared  it- 
self. Where  that  book  was  read  must  be  the 
place  which  he  had  suffered  much  to  find. 
He  was  content. 

As  the  service  went  on  the  ofBciating  priest 
with  bowed  head  was  kneeling  in  prayer  be- 
fore the  altar.  All  the  kneeling  congregation 
were  responding,  ''  Amen."     Selim  also  knelt, 


The  Foreigner  With  a  Black  Hat   129 

his  eyes  occupied  with  the  splendour  and 
glitter  of  colour.  He  could  see  the  details 
of  the  altar  as  he  could  not  at  first ;  he  won- 
dered at  the  vases  of  artificial  flowers  ;  at  the 
golden  vessels  shining  upon  the  altar,  at  the 
lace  and  embroidery  of  the  altar  cloth  ;  he 
lifted  his  eyes  to  other  decorations  above. 
There  for  the  first  time  he  noted  the  statue  of 
a  woman  with  a  crown  of  gold  on  her  head, 
a  veil  flowing  over  her  shoulders  and  a  huge 
cross  filling  the  space  behind  her.  His  Mo- 
hammedan hatred  for  images  rose  instantly  in 
revolt.  He  caught  the  arm  of  the  man  at  his 
side,  saying,  *'  What  is  that  thing  up  there?" 

The  worshipper,  rudely  disturbed  in  his 
devotions,  but  knowing  Mohammedans  too 
well  to  miss  the  feeling  behind  the  question, 
replied,  *'  Oh,  that  is  nothing  !  Keep  quiet ! 
It  is  the  picture  of  the  mother  of  God." 

"  God  forbid  !  God  forbid  !  "  said  Selim 
over  and  over  to  himself,  as  gathering  up  his 
shoes  and  turning  his  back  on  the  mysteries 
of  the  altar,  he  picked  his  way  out  of  the 
church  among  the  kneeling  worshippers. 

At  the  door  a  sacristan  said  to  him,  **  The 
service  is  not  half  over.  Will  you  not  see 
therest  of  it?" 

*'  No,  it  is  enough,"  said  Selim  as  he  al- 
most ran  from  the  church. 


130  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

While  he  rapidly  walked  down  the  street, 
he  was  still  muttering  to  himself,  *'  God  for- 
bid !  God  forbid  that  I  should  worship  idols  I 
There  is  no  god  but  God  and  Mohammed  is 
the  prophet  of  God.  Christians  are  idolaters. 
It  is  not  for  me  to  lose  my  faith  by  studying 
their  Bible  in  hopes  of  learning  how  to  draw 
near  to  God." 

A  furious  anger  filled  the  man's  soul.  He 
had  been  deceived  into  thinking  he  had  found 
the  true  interpreters  of  the  truth,  and  that 
image  had  brought  sudden  disillusionment 
to  his  mind.  He  longed  to  be  revenged  on 
Mirza  Rustem  who  had  drawn  him  into  the 
study  of  the  Bible  and  on  Mr.  Barlow  who 
had  induced  him  to  undertake  the  long, 
dreadful  journey  to  Mosul  to  secure  the 
Book  in  which  he  would  find  God.  His 
dream  was  dreamed  ;  he  was  himself  again. 
From  this  on  he  would  follow  the  path  which 
was  his  destiny  and  permit  no  wild  notions 
to  make  him  seek  a  better  ;  now  he  need  no 
more  be  a  toy  of  fate.  He  had  lost  time  and 
had  suffered  needlessly,  but  he  was  exactly 
where  he  was  before  beginning  his  quest. 
There  was  a  topographical  difference  but  he 
could  quickly  go  home  to  the  plateau  and 
forget  that  he  had  been  away  ! 

It  was    nearly  sunset,  when  shortly  after 


The  Foreigner  With  a  Black  Hat    131 

this  soul-disturbing  adventure,  Selim,  stroll- 
ing towards  the  Tigris  Bridge  in  the  usual 
medley  of  people,  heard  the  curious  snoring 
snort  with  which  the  Soudanese  express  dis- 
approval. He  turned  and  found  himself  face 
to  face  with  Suleiman,  the  servant  of  Hassan 
Bey  !  It  was  a  joyful  meeting,  for  Selim  had 
not  heard  directly  from  home  during  the  two 
years  of  his  exile.  A  volley  of  questions  al- 
most breathlessly  given  brought  out  the  fact 
that  Suleiman  had  come  to  Mosul  to  sell  a 
quantity  of  the  produce  of  the  flock  and  to 
buy  gaily  coloured  turban  cloth  for  the  men 
and  white  muslin  to  be  painted  or  embroid- 
ered by  the  women.  The  old  henchman  of 
Hassan  Bey  then  told  with  great  detail  the 
small  gossip  of  the  camp,  which  centred  en- 
tirely about  the  welfare  of  the  great  flocks ; 
how  the  spotted  ram  broke  off  his  horn  in 
the  forest,  how  the  ewes  brought  from  Persia 
had  thriven  and  increased,  how  Yahya,  the 
head-shepherd,  with  a  stick  in  his  bare 
hands  had  captured  a  wolf,  and  so  on.  The 
crafty  Oriental  left  the  greater  news  to  be 
hinted  at  and  finally  suggested  rather  than 
told  at  the  end.  Hassan  Bey,  the  chief,  was 
so  infuriated  by  the  story  which  Sheikh  Ab- 
dullah told  of  Selim's  misconduct  and  flight 
into  Persia,  that  he  could  with  difficulty  be 


132  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

restrained  from  sallying  forth  at  once  to  find 
and  kill  his  son.  He  finally  contented  him- 
self, however,  with  a  blood-curdling  oath  that 
he  never  again  would  receive  him  as  his  son. 
Then  by  further  diplomatic  progress,  by  hints 
and  remarks  upon  the  strangeness  of  God's 
dealings  with  His  servants,  the  old  Kurd 
brought  the  long  story  to  a  terrible  climax — 
Fatima,  Selim's  mother,  was  dead  ! 

Notwithstanding  the  sorrow  that  almost 
paralyzed  his  mind,  when  Suleiman  made 
him  understand  that  his  dear  mother  had 
gone  from  this  world,  the  bereavement  made 
a  man  of  Selim.  During  all  those  early  days 
in  Mosul,  the  young  Kurd  was  more  and 
more  inclined  to  decide  that  it  was  well  to 
give  up  his  aspirations,  and  accept  the  fact 
that  a  Mohammedan  Hke  a  Chinaman  may 
neither  have  ideals  nor  grow.  Nothing 
seemed  to  hinder  his  going  back  to  the 
mountain  plateau  to  take  up  the  ordinary 
routine  of  his  life  as  a  Kurdish  sheep-master. 
Now,  however,  that  was  impossible.  His 
mother  was  gone,  his  father  was  alienated  ; 
but  he  would  bear  himself  sturdily  under  the 
w^eight  of  these  bitter  sorrows. 

It  was  not  long  before  Selim  secured  an 
appointment  under  the  government  as  teacher 
in  one  of  the  public  schools  in  the  city.     He 


The  Foreigner  With  a  Black  Hat   133 

was  expected  to  see  that  small  children 
learned  properly  to  intone  the  Koran,  to  re- 
cite the  litany,  and  to  wonder  at  the  tradi- 
tional life  of  Mohammed  as  it  was  read  or  as 
they  tried  to  commit  it  to  memory. 

A  month  after  Selim  had  taken  charge  of 
the  school,  the  Inspector  of  public  instruction, 
from  whom  he  had  obtained  the  appoint- 
ment, called  at  his  rooms.  After  a  little 
preliminary  bandying  of  oily  compliments 
the  Inspector  let  it  be  understood  that  Selim 
had  to  pay  him  every  month  ten  per  cent,  of 
his  salary  in  consideration  of  services  ren- 
dered in  securing  him  the  appointment.  The 
Inspector,  who  was  also  a  regular  preacher 
at  one  of  the  great  mosques,  seeing  some 
hesitation  on  the  part  of  Selim,  said  to  him, 
*'  There  are  plenty  of  men  who  would  be  glad 
to  pay  even  more  than  ten  per  cent,  for  getting 
your  place.  Of  course  I  would  not  think  of 
such  men  when  we  can  have  such  abilities  as 
yours.  But  you  must  not  suppose,"  he  con- 
tinued, "that  I  got  my  office  for  nothing. 
We  can  none  of  us  live  unless  we  help  one 
another." 

The  argument  was  as  convincing  as  a 
highwayman's  pistol,  and  Selim  handed  over 
the  money.  The  Inspector,  however,  was  not 
pleased  with  his  hesitation,  slight  though  it 


134  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

was,  and  remarked  drily,  *'  Some  of  our 
people  think  that  you  ought  to  be  dismissed 
in  any  case.  They  say  you  have  been  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  church."  With  that  he 
took  his  departure. 

Selim  felt  personally  humiliated  because  a 
pious  preacher  in  the  Mohammedan  com- 
munity was  not  ashamed  to  be  a  simple 
grafter,  using  his  white  turban  to  swell  his 
hoard  of  money.  It  had  been  like  a  sentence 
to  prison  to  be  forced  to  cease  investigating 
the  Bible  and  its  teachings  ;  but,  just  as  he 
was  ready  to  drop  back  into  the  rut  that  had 
cramped  him  from  childhood,  to  have  the 
personal  corruption  of  Muslims  flung  in  his 
face  angered  him.  It  was  as  if  some  voice 
had  told  him  he  was  a  fool.  And  for  a  time 
he  was  ready  to  say  with  the  fool,  ''  There  is 
no  God." 

As  to  the  hint  that  somebody  kept  his 
doings  in  view,  even  his  visit  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  being  known  to  the  police, 
Selim  did  not  reflect  upon  it  until  some 
weeks  later.  His  cheek  did  not  pale  on 
thinking  of  this  surveillance  nor  did  he  lose 
sleep  worrying  over  it.  It  was  an  element 
of  Islam.  The  injustice  of  the  Inspector's 
insinuation  filled  his  mind.  ''  What  is  the 
Christian  church  to  me?"  he  demanded  of 


The  Foreigner  With  a  Black  Hat   135 

himself.  *'  The  instant  I  saw  the  image  of 
the  woman  I  ran,  horrified,  confessing  sin, 
crying  to  God,  the  refuge  of  sinner  and  saint. 
Yet  this  Inspector  suspects  that  my  thought 
was  evil.  Such  a  man  is  to  be  shunned  ;  I 
would  fear  him  even  in  eternity." 

A  like  suspicion  had  always  pursued  Selim. 
It  had  made  his  father  execrate  and  disown 
him  ;  it  caused  the  murder  of  Salih  at  Ker- 
kuk ;  it  led  Colonel  Ali  Bey  to  leave  him 
stripped  on  that  dreadful  mountain  road. 
All  Islam  seemed  to  have  combined  against 
his  habit  of  thinking  for  himself.  But  the 
young  man's  teeth  now  clenched  in  determi- 
nation that  although  he  was  a  Muslim  none 
should  rob  him  of  the  right  to  think  without 
which  men  become  beasts.  Here  he  could 
join  issue  with  all  the  bigots  in  Turkey  ! 


XI 

A  MAN  OF  UNCLASSIFIED  SPECIES 

t  g  ^HE  same  afternoon  Selim  saw  a 
I  very  curious  spectacle  in  the  cotton 
J-  goods  bazaar.  The  most  of  the 
shopkeepers  there  were  Chaldean,  Greek,  or 
Armenian  Christians.  Selim's  attention  was 
caught  by  a  quick  motion  of  one  of  these  shop- 
keepers who  was  eating  his  lunch  of  bread  and 
onions  with  quiet  enjoyment.  The  man  threw 
the  green  onion  tops  across  the  narrow  street 
into  the  stall  of  a  tall,  benevolent-looking 
old  man,  as  if  into  a  garbage  pail.  Almost 
at  the  same  moment  another  shopkeeper, 
calling  out,  "  Here,  puppy  !  Here,  puppy  ! " 
threw  a  bone  into  the  same  stall.  Selim  was 
disgusted  not  only  with  those  who  were 
annoying  the  quiet  old  shopkeeper  but  at 
the  latter  also  who,  instead  of  swearing  and 
rushing  with  furious  gestures  upon  those  who 
maltreated  him,  paid  no  attention  to  them 
whatever.  He  merely  removed  the  refuse 
from  his  stall  and  sat  down  again.  It  was 
the  most  extraordinary  thing  he  had  ever 
seen  in  relations  between  men.  Among  the 
136 


A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species       137 

Kurds  the  very  women  would  hoot  at  a  man 
who  would  submit  to  injury  so  tamely. 
Selim  could  not  think  that  the  old  man  was  a 
coward,  for  his  eye  had  flashed  and  his 
hands  had  clenched  when  for  a  moment  it 
seemed  that  he  would  punish  the  indignity. 
Some  strong  influence  had  held  his  anger 
under  control.  The  case  was  an  unclassified 
curiosity ! 

The  cotton  goods  bazaar  was  a  little  out  of 
Selim's  regular  course  to  his  school,  but  to  see 
the  old  man  who  was  endowed  with  power  to 
get  angry,  but  did  not,  he  several  times  went 
through  the  bazaar,  as  one  might  go  through 
the  Zoo  to  take  another  look  at  the  hippo- 
potamus. Selim  thus  chanced  upon  another 
very  curious  incident.  One  of  the  shop- 
keepers, whom  he  recognized  as  the  sneering 
cynic  who  threw  the  bone  into  the  old  man's 
stall,  slipped  on  a  melon  rind  and  fell  heavily 
to  the  pavement.  The  other  tradesmen 
laughed  and  jeered,  but  the  kindly  old  man 
who  had  borne  his  abuse  a  day  or  two  before 
sprang  from  his  stall,  raised  the  fallen  man, 
asked  if  he  was  hurt,  brushed  the  dust  from 
his  clothes,  and  brought  water  to  clean  his 
hands.  If  his  enemy  had  been  a  loved 
brother  he  could  not  have  done  more.  He 
even  wished  the  man  Godspeed  with  embar- 


138  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

rassing  cheerfulness  in  answer  to  a  muttered 
word  of  thanks. 

Selim  stood  open  mouthed.  The  precious- 
ness  of  revenge,  to  the  very  last  pound  of 
flesh,  was  one  of  the  foundation  principles  of 
his  education.  Why  did  this  man  forego 
that  priceless  privilege  of  manhood  when  his 
tormentor  lay  sprawling  at  his  feet  ?  What 
sort  of  an  equipment  had  such  a  man  for 
breasting  the  storms  of  every-day  life  ? 

The  next  day  Selim  yielded  to  an  impulse 
to  speak  to  the  old  shopkeeper  whose  name, 
he  had  learned,  was  Shemmas  (Deacon)  Su- 
leiba.  He  found  the  man  seated  among  his 
piles  of  goods,  after  the  manner  of  Oriental 
merchants  when  not  waiting  on  customers, 
upon  a  rug  on  the  floor  of  his  stall.  His 
pastime  seemed  to  be  a  book.  One  thing 
was  inexplicable.  While  the  faces  of  the 
other  shopkeepers  were  sour  and  repellent 
this  man's  countenance  radiated  kindness 
and  content.  Selim  gave  Suleiba  the  cus- 
tomary salutation,  ''  Peace  be  to  you." 

''  On  you  be  peace ! "  replied  Suleiba. 
*'  Come  in." 

Selim  left  his  shoes  on  the  pavement  and 
seated  himself  cross-legged  on  the  rug. 

"  Do  they  plague  you  still  ?  "  he  asked. 

*'  Who  plague  me  ?  " 


A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species       139 

*'  Why,  those  ruffians  who  threw  things  at 
you  and  called  you  a  Framason  (Freemason) 
and  a  puppy." 

"  They  do  not  know  what  they  are  doing. 
Some  day  they  will  know.     I  can  wait." 

''  I  do  not  understand  why  you  wait.  You 
are  a  man ;  why  not  give  as  good  as  you 
get?  At  least  curse  them  in  a  manly  way. 
Even  a  dog  would  snarl  in  such  a  case  1 " 

"  This  book  has  taught  me,"  said  Suleiba, 
*'  to  give  blessing  for  cursing.  A  fruit  of  fol- 
lowing that  rule  is  peace  and  quietness  and 
assurance  forever." 

"  What  sort  of  a  religion  is  yours  ?  I 
never  heard  of  such  a  religion  !  " 

''It  is  the  religion  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 
Years  ago  some  men  exiled  themselves  here 
from  America  that  they  might  teach  us  how 
to  draw  near  to  God.  They  brought  us  this 
Bible.  Ever  since  it  has  been  a  light  to  my 
path." 

**  Have  you  a  Bible?  Let  me  see  it,"  said 
Selim  huskily  and  trembling  with  excitement. 
He  took  the  book,  turned  the  leaves  and  his 
face  shone  as  he  read,  ''The  Lord  is  my 
shepherd,  I  shall  not  want," — the  words 
which  again  warmed  his  heart  as  they  did 
when  he  first  read  them  in  Persian  in  Mirza 
Rustem's  library  I 


140  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

During  all  these  months  Selim  had  let  the 
gusts  of  bigotry  drive  him  from  his  bearings. 
Now  as  he  turned  quickly  from  one  familiar 
passage  of  the  Bible  to  another  he  forgot  his 
despair  and  his  doubts.  He  was  once  more 
the  eager,  hopeful  seeker.  The  clear  axi- 
omatic sentences  of  the  Bible  have  power  to 
grip  the  mind  of  him  who  reads  it,  so  that  he 
is  never  just  the  same  as  he  was  before,  even 
though  he  rejects  the  book  as  a  whole. 

Shemmas  Suleiba  eyed  the  young  man 
with  curiosity.  **  You  have  seen  the  Bible 
before,  have  you  not?"  he  asked. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Selim.  "  Where  can  I 
get  one  ?  Did  you  get  it  from  the  foreigners 
at  the  church  in  the  alley  ?  " 

"  Not  from  them  !  They  do  not  give  Bibles 
there  1     I  have  some  here  if  you  want  one." 

"  Then  those  foreigners  who  kneel  to  pic- 
tures are  not  the  Americans  you  speak  of  ?  " 

"  God  forbid  !  American  missionaries  used 
to  live  here  and  brought  us  the  Bible.  Three 
of  them  are  buried  in  our  cemetery.  They 
could  not  endure  this  climate.  One  of  the 
missionaries  now  visits  us  at  least  once  every 
year,  but  we  are  orphans  between  the  visits." 

Selim  now  understood  that  because  of  his 
ignorance  and  the  black  hats  worn  by  the 
Roman   Catholic   priests  he   had   made  the 


A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species       141 

mistake  of  thinking  them  to  be  the  teachers 
whom  Mirza  Rustem  and  Mr.  Barlow  had 
told  him  to  find.  A  load  was  lifted  from  his 
heart.  Forgetting  that  Mohammedans  are 
never  forgiven  such  inquiries,  he  almost 
shouted,  *'  Then  I  can  get  a  Bible  from  you, 
and  ask  you  to  help  me  understand  it." 

**  Here  is  a  small  Bible,'*  said  Suleiba, 
"  which  will  not  attract  attention.  But  let 
me  say  one  word  about  reading  it.  The 
truth  which  you  find  there  is  not  to  be  ad- 
mired as  a  good  notion  because  you  see  it  is 
true.  It  is  to  be  planted  in  the  heart  as  a 
seed  from  which  conduct  and  character 
grow." 

**  I  believe  you,"  said  Selim.  "  All  my  life 
has  been  filled  with  discontent  because  I 
knew  that  I  needed  to  grow  better  but  could 
not.  Everybody  has  frowned  upon  me  as  a 
'  free-thinker.'  You  will  let  me  come  to  you, 
will  you  not,  once  in  a  while  to  ask  questions  ? 
For  questions  rise  from  the  reading  of  this 
book." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  warm,  cordial 
friendship.  Shemmas  Suleiba  was  drawn  to 
the  young  Kurd  whom  a  voice  within  had 
persistently  stirred  to  dissatisfaction  with  the 
smug,  religious  self-complacency  of  his  own 
people.     The    Muslim,  on   the   other  hand, 


142  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

watched  this  man  to  discover  the  pet  vice 
that  Uke  other  men  he  must  secretly  cherish. 
But  he  was  amazed  at  the  pure,  artless,  strong 
manhood  which  placed  Suleiba  head  and 
shoulders  above  all  men  whom  he  had  known. 

Selini  was  not  destined  long  to  enjoy  the 
pleasure  which  springs  from  obstacles  over- 
thrown. Every  Mohammedan  finds  pleas- 
ure in  serving  the  cause  of  religion  by  watch- 
ing against  laxity  in  other  Mohammedans. 
One  of  his  scholars  met  him  as  he  arrived  at 
his  school  one  morning  with  a  crumpled 
and  rather  dirty  letter.  He  said  that  a 
stranger  had  left  it  "  for  the  teacher." 

To  set  his  pupils  at  their  lessons  was  like 
pressing  the  button  of  an  electric  circuit ;  at 
one  word  from  the  teacher,  the  whole  room 
burst  forth  into  a  singsong  chorus  '*  a-b,  ab, 
b-a,  ba,"  etc.  When  the  children  were  in 
full  cry,  Selim  read  his  letter.  This  was  what 
he  read : 

"  Selim,  you  have  travelled  to  Mosul  with 
Colonel  Ali  Bey  who  discovered  that  you 
carry  with  you  leaves  from  the  spurious  Gos- 
pel of  Jesus,  on  whom  be  peace.  At  Mosul 
you  have  attended  the  Christian  church  in 
spite  of  its  idols  and  false  worship.  For  thus 
disgracing  the  pure  clan  of  your  fathers  you 
have  me  to  deal  with.     I  have  sharpened  my 


A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species       143 

yataghan,  and  by  the  great  God  in  a  short 
time  I  will  cut  your  heart  out  of  your  miser- 
able carcass. — Osman,  son  of  Kemal." 

Selim  folded  the  letter,  put  it  in  his  pocket, 
and  proceeded  with  the  duties  of  the  hour,  as 
if  the  paper  had  not  seemed  to  bring  Osman 
Aga's  very  voice  to  his  ears.  Perhaps  his 
contempt  for  Osman  was  a  factor  in  the 
calmness  with  which  he  received  the  threat. 
What  gave  him  more  concern  was  the  reve- 
lation made  by  the  letter  that  his  actions 
were  watched  and  discussed.  He  had  not 
for  a  single  moment  swerved  from  his  loyalty 
to  his  religion.  He  attended  the  services  in 
the  mosque  ;  he  faithfully  performed  all  the 
required  religious  duties.  He  knew  that  the 
men  about  him  were  not  godly  men,  but  he 
himself  had  tried  to  live  uprightly.  He  had 
found  new  views  of  God  and  of  the  service 
of  God  in  the  Bible  and  he  had  lately  rejoiced 
in  going  over  again  their  simple,  self-evident 
truths.  These  truths  related  to  God — the 
God  of  Mohammed — the  only  God.  They  did 
not  undermine  any  article  of  his  faith  but  con- 
firmed and  illuminated  the  grounds  of  his  be- 
lief. 

Yet  somebody  or  some  people,  filled  with 
Mohammedan  intolerance  of  free  thought, 
were  following  his  every  movement  with  the 


1 44  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

intention  of  chaining  him  up.  This  close  and 
hostile  watch  upon  his  freedom  was  of  one 
piece  with  that  which  the  Inspector  of  Schools 
had  suggested  to  his  mind  in  his  reference  to 
Selim's  visit  to  the  Catholic  church.  Eyes 
were  fixed  upon  him.  Nothing  could  escape 
their  inquisitive  glare.  Some  monster,  un- 
seen but  masterful,  might  try  at  any  moment 
to  force  him  back  into  the  iron  mold  which 
deforms  Mohammedan  manhood  as  foot- 
binding  in  China  deforms  growing  girlhood. 
This  secret  surveillance  is  a  terror  to  thou- 
sands of  educated  Muslims.  The  vague  anx- 
iety had  scarcely  been  aroused  in  Selim  when 
the  monster  struck  his  blow. 

The  primary  school  which  Selim  taught 
was  housed  in  a  vaulted  stone  building  in 
the  courtyard  of  one  of  the  largest  mosques 
of  the  city.  From  the  court  a  short  flight  of 
stone  steps,  worn  by  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  of  use,  leads  up  to  a  paved  porch  un- 
der a  small  dome  supported  by  four  slender 
columns.  Here  the  children  leave  their  shoes 
before  stepping  upon  the  polished  marble 
threshold  of  the  schoolroom.  The  school- 
room itself  was  high  and  airy  under  its  great 
vaulted  roof.  The  whole  surface  of  the  vault 
as  well  as  the  walls  were  whitewashed.  The 
only  decorations  were  four  or  five  ornamental 


A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species      145 

tablets  bearing  verses  from  the  Koran ;  one 
of  the  most  graceful  of  these  inscriptions,  hav- 
ing been  drawn  by  Selim  himself,  contained 
the  one  sentence,  "  God  is  beautiful ;  He 
loves  beauty." 

The  floor  of  the  schoolroom  was  covered 
with  a  coarse  but  clean  matting  upon  which 
the  scholars  sit  while  busy  with  their  lessons. 
Opposite  the  great  door  and  near  one  of  the 
deep  embrasured  windows  was  a  platform 
raised  about  six  inches  above  the  floor  of  the 
room.  Here  the  teacher  sits,  cross-legged, 
on  a  red  and  white  striped  cushion.  A  low 
stand  at  his  right  hand  held  his  inkstand,  his 
reed  pens,  his  penknife,  his  paper  and  two  or 
three  books.  This  primitive  outfit  is  the  only 
approximation  to  a  desk  in  such  a  school. 

When  Selim  sauntered  through  the  court- 
yard one  morning  there  were  no  scholars 
awaiting  him  at  the  door.  He  was  starded 
to  hear  the  children's  voices  shouting  their 
spelling  lesson  as  if  school  had  already 
opened.  On  approaching  the  door  he  was 
astonished  to  see  an  old  man,  a  stranger,  sit- 
ting on  his  cushion  and,  quite  at  his  ease, 
sharpening  reed  pens.  Selim  was  searching 
for  words  sufficiendy  keen  to  score  the  im- 
pudence of  the  intruder  when  the  old  man 
said  in  a  patronizing  tone  : 


146  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

"  Good  luck  to  you,  sir ;  what  did  you 
wish  ?  " 

''What  do  I  wish?"  said  Selim  rather 
loudly.  "  I  am  the  teacher  of  this  school  and 
I  do  not  require  your  assistance." 

The  smaller  scholars  stilled  their  singsong 
shouting,  but  the  older  ones  with  fine  diplo- 
matic sense  kept  up  their  chorus  unbroken. 
The  old  man  without  moving  from  his  vantage 
ground  replied  in  the  even  tone  of  one  who 
is  sure  of  his  rights. 

''  Excuse  me,  sir,  I  am  the  teacher  of  this 
school,  and  I  must  beg  that  you  will  not 
interrupt  the  lessons." 

*'  What  do  you  mean  by  thrusting  yourself 
into  this  place?"  cried  Selim  hotly.  "The 
Department  of  Public  Instruction  appointed 
me  the  teacher  of  this  school.  Please  do  not 
longer  disturb  my  pupils." 

**  I  have  an  appointment  of  more  recent 
date,"  replied  the  interloper  ;  "  if  you  wish 
you  may  read  it,"  and  without  rising  he  held 
out  a  large  sheet  of  official  paper. 

Selim  stepped  forward,  deftly  avoiding 
collision  with  the  small  students  who  very 
nearly  fully  covered  the  floor.  The  document 
was  perfectly  clear  and  regular.  It  was 
dated  the  previous  day  and  appointed  Fehmi 
Effendi  to  be  teacher  of  the  Abbas  mosque 


A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species       147 

primary  school,  "  in  the  place  of  Selim  Effendi 
removed."  It  stated  a  fact  that  the  writer 
was  glad  to  hide  from  the  outgoing  teacher. 
Selim  handed  the  document  bacl^  to  his  suc- 
cessor, preserving  outward  calm  while  sufj[er- 
ing  the  inward  pangs  of  humiliation  so 
skillfully  devised  for  him.  Saying,  "  May  it 
be  sweet  to  you,"  he  turned  away  and  left 
the  place,  the  new  teacher  adding  one  more 
wound  to  his  pride  by  the  malicious  grin 
with  which  he  said,  "May  God  go  with 
you  ! " 

As  Selim  went  out  the  stern  voice  of  the 
new  teacher  ordered  the  children  to  go  on 
with  their  lesson  and  the  chorus  of  voices 
seemed  a  pean  of  triumph  at  the  discomfiture 
of  him  who  had  carefully  taught  them  during 
the  months  of  his  service. 

The  Inspector  of  Schools  had  no  explana- 
tions to  make  about  this  summary  dismissal. 
He  was  polite  and  even  friendly  in  manner. 

"They  appointed  Fehmi  Eflendi  to  take 
that  school,"  the  Inspector  said,  "and  the 
instant  he  got  the  appointment  he  was  ofT. 
He  went  so  fast  that  a  stone  from  a  sling 
could  not  have  caught  up  with  him.  There 
was  no  time  to  tell  you.  I  am  sorry  ;  but 
you  know  I  told  you  there  are  rumours  that 
you   are   too    friendly   with   the   Chrisdans. 


148  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

Many  kinds  of  people  make  up  this  world. 
Fat  or  lean,  may  God  accept  them  all  1 " 

Selim  did  not  quite  accept  the  Inspector's 
implied  friendliness  to  himself.  A  Turkish 
official  always  has  two  sides  and  one  must  be 
sure  that  he  has  seen  both  before  he  may 
build  on  friendly  ,  words.  When  Selim  ap- 
plied to  the  city  Treasury  for  three  months' 
arrears  of  pay  he  was  confirmed  in  his  vague 
suspicion  that  his  summary  dismissal  was  a 
policy  rather  than  an  accident.  He  was 
asked  to  call  the  next  week.  At  the  end  of 
the  week  he  was  put  off  another  week.  After 
a  week  he  appeared  at  the  Treasury  once 
more,  and  the  official  said  to  him,  ''  What  is 
your  hurry?  You  have  waited  these  three 
weeks,  you  can  surely  wait  a  little  longer." 
Clearly  all  the  officials  had  a  hidden  reason 
for  treating  him  in  this^manner.  They  feared 
his  active  mind.  This  made  them  all  dis- 
criminate against  him. 

Meantime  Selim  established  himself  as  a 
public  scribe.  He  hired  a  litde  stall  in  the 
edge  of  the  bazaars,  and  prepared  petitions, 
legal  documents,  love-letters — anything  that 
illiterate  men  of  business  need  to  have  put 
on  paper  in  clear  and  legible  form.  He  was 
a  real  artist  in  Arabic  and  Persian  caligraphy, 
such   an   artist  as   connoisseurs   appreciate. 


A  Man  of  Unclassified  Species      149 

More  than  once  he  was  paid  as  much  as  a 
dollar  for  writing  the  graceful  curves  of  the 
single  Arabic  character  which  is  used  to 
represent  the  phrase  "  He  who  is,"  that  is  to 
say,  God.  The  beautiful  Arabic  mottoes 
which  he  wrote  were  always  in  demand  for 
wall  decoration  in  that  land  where  pictures 
are  tabooed.  So  he  made  his  living  while 
waiting  for  money  due  from  the  school, 
which  in  actual  fact  he  never  received. 


XII 

IN  DARKNESS  A  GREAT  LIGHT 

THE  unseen  forces  in  a  Mohammedan 
country  which  set  themselves  as  bar- 
riers in  the  way  of  him  who  thinks 
and  questions  do  not  necessarily  proceed  from 
official  censors  of  men's  thoughts.  Lynch 
law  is  not  an  indigenous  product  of  American 
social  life  but  a  reversion  in  America  to 
customs  as  old  as  the  time  when  there  was 
no  king  in  Israel  and  every  man  did  what 
was  right  in  his  own  eyes.  Some  passer-by 
saw  Selim  go  with  a  priest  into  the  Roman 
Catholic  church  and  reported  him  to  the 
authorities  as  an  erring  brother.  Colonel 
Ali  Bey  discovered  Selim's  possession  of  the 
leaves  of  the  Bible,  caused  them  to  be  taken 
from  him,  and  gave  them  to  the  authorities 
at  Mosul  as  proof  that  this  young  man  was  a 
lax  Mohammedan.  Other  ardent  Moham- 
medans, dreading  the  effect  of  breaking  over 
traditional  limitations,  reported  to  the  author- 
ities as  a  thing  to  be  punished  Selim's 
friendly  relations  with  the  Protestant  deacon 


In  Darkness  a  Great  Light  1 5 1 

Suleiba.  Importance  was  given  to  this  tale- 
bearing when  each  man  called  to  ask  the 
Governor  what  had  been  done  about  Selim. 
So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Inspector  of 
Schools,  on  his  own  motion  and  without 
orders,  replaced  Selim  as  teacher  of  the  Abbas 
primary  school  and  reported  him  to  the  Gov- 
ernor as  dangerous.  The  Governor,  the  Cadi 
(judge),  the  Colonel,  the  Inspector  of  Schools, 
and  other  defenders  of  the  faith,  discussed 
Selim's  evil  curiosity  about  matters  outside 
of  the  Mohammedan  fold.  The  Cadi  was 
more  or  less  of  a  liberal  himself  and  said  that 
any  need  of  action  depended  upon  the  ques- 
tion whether  Selim  neglected  worship.  All 
admitted  that  Selim  was  regularly  at  the 
mosque  and  performed  all  his  religious  duties. 
Then  said  the  Cadi,  *'  If  this  man  performs 
his  religious  duties  and  goes  to  mosque,  he 
is  a  Mohammedan  in  good  standing.  Any- 
thing else  that  he  does  is  an  afiair  between 
him  and  his  God."  This  convinced  the  Gov- 
ernor that  no  action  was  called  for  ;  but  he 
commended  all  who  had  taken  an  interest  in 
the  case  and  advised  them  to  watch  the 
young  man  for  further  symptoms  of  disorder. 
As  understood  by  all  present  this  meant  that 
any  good  Muslim  would  unobtrusively  see 
what  he  could  of  Selim's  life,  and  clamour  at 


152  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

the  gate  of  authority  for  his  punishment 
whenever  any  new  act  seemed  to  threaten  the 
domination  of  Islam. 

Of  this  council  and  its  solemn  sanction  of 
suspicion  towards  himself  Selim  knew  noth- 
ing. A  very  small  fire  caused  all  that  smoke 
at  the  government  headquarters.  Selim' s 
Mussulman  acquaintances  had  a  greediness 
for  flesh-pots  which  disgusted  him  ;  they  con- 
tinually made  amazing  mistakes  of  con- 
science. **What  they  take  up  breaks  and 
what  they  throw  away  hits  somebody,"  was 
his  mental  comment  upon  their  freebooting 
excursions  into  the  border  lands  of  ethics. 
But  he  laid  such  mistakes  to  awkwardness  and 
ignorance ;  his  mind  had  not  yet  pictured  a 
bastard  religion.  The  Koran  teaches  the 
eternal  truth  that  there  is  no  god  but  God, 
and  Selim  believed  its  claim  that  this  was  the 
religion  of  Abraham,  Moses,  and  Jesus — the 
only  religion.  Hence  he  worshipped  in  the 
house  of  God  ;  that  is  to  say  in  the  mosque. 
In  this  way  the  simplicity  and  sincerity  of 
Selim's  religious  instincts  balked  for  the  time 
the  carping  bigots. 

But  the  Kurd  was  a  man  in  other  ways 
than  in  generosity  towards  his  critics.  His 
dismissal  from  the  school  at  the  Abbas 
mosque,  and  Osman  Aga's  absurd  and  blood- 


In  Darkness  a  Great  Light  153 

thirsty  letter  with  its  revelation  of  the  gossip, 
now  flooding  tent  and  hovel  throughout  the 
district,  drove  him  to  renewed  study  of  his 
Bible.  He  went  more  frequently  to  the  dea- 
con's house  because  of  that  impertinent  med- 
dling with  his  freedom  of  thought.  As  a 
protection  against  the  surveillance  which  he 
felt  but  could  not  quite  discover,  he  com- 
monly visited  Shemmas  Suleiba  at  night, 
soon  after  the  last  evening  service  at  the 
mosque.  The  visits  were  always  welcomed 
because  Suleiba  liked  the  straightforward 
young  Muslim  who  seemed  to  him  to  be  los- 
ing faith  in  Mohammed  through  his  persist- 
ent Bible  study.  Suleiba  did  not  know  that 
Selim's  desires  were  still  limited  to  a  few  re- 
forms in  the  morals  of  Islam. 

After  a  while  Selirn  noticed  that  the  south 
end  of  the  narrow  garden  of  a  house  in  the 
Mohammedan  quarter  lay  against  the  side 
wall  of  Suleiba' s  garden  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  city.  In  that  house,  the  entrance  to  which 
was  on  a  narrow  lane  called  the  Street  of  No 
Turning,  Selim  managed  to  hire  a  room  to 
which  he  moved  with  all  his  belongings. 
His  new  landlord  was  a  good  old  Moham- 
medan named  Hamdi,  who  had  the  rare  virtue 
of  considering  every  man  a  saint  who  did  not 
interfere  with  his  business.     Hamdi's   busi- 


154  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

ness  was  making  splint  baskets  in  a  shop 
under  his  house.  The  old  fellow  observed 
that  his  new  lodger  on  some  evenings  spent 
much  time  in  the  garden,  but  his  simple  soul 
was  not  curious  as  to  what  he  did  there. 
What  Selim  did  in  the  garden  was  to  hasten 
to  its  lower  end  and  scramble  over  a  mud 
wall  and  join  Suleiba  at  the  bench  under  his 
apricot  trees  by  the  river  bank.  This  was  an 
easy  solution  of  a  serious  problem,  for  Selim, 
living  in  the  Mohammedan  quarter  could  now 
reach  unobserved  the  house  of  Suleiba  in  the 
distant  Christian  quarter  of  the  city. 

The  deacon  was  not  only  the  cleanest, 
most  truthful,  and  devout,  and  withal  the 
strongest  man  he  had  ever  met.  He  was 
also  of  the  land  ;  not  a  foreigner.  He  could 
reveal  in  his  own  experiences  how  the  Bible 
worked  upon  an  Oriental  mind,  and  his 
views  of  the  Book  would  be  confidences  from 
behind  the  scenes,  as  it  were.  However 
learned  and  pious  a  missionary  from  abroad 
with  a  black  hat  might  be,  Selim  could  not 
give  to  his  words  half  the  weight  that  be- 
longs to  the  natural  idioms  of  a  child  of  the 
Turkish  soil.  So  men  inhabiting  the  gutter 
are  more  influenced  by  a  slum-worker  who 
himself  was  dug  out  of  the  gutter. 

In  dealing  with  Selim  Suleiba  was  business- 


In  Darkness  a  Great  Light  155 

like.  He  could  not  win  customers  by  argu- 
ment or  by  trying  to  convince  them  of  crude 
tastes  and  unreasonable  wishes  ;  he  did  not 
let  himself  be  drawn  into  controversy  with 
Selim,  nor  criticism  of  Mohammed's  blunders, 
nor  gibes  at  Muslims  whose  immoralities 
fouled  the  air.  He  wished  to  arouse  the  young 
man's  conscience  to  a  loathing  of  evil  that 
might  prepare  his  thoughts  to  admit  need  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  but  the  Kurd  himself  must  open 
the  way.  Selim  would  come  to  him  with 
difficulties  met  in  the  Bible,  and  discussion  of 
them  would  be  the  time  for  planting  seed 
thoughts.  This  was  the  whole  plan  of  his 
campaign  of  enlightenment. 

The  superficial  quality  of  the  religious 
notions  found  in  the  Koran  by  the  average 
Muslim  is  shown  by  the  trivialities  which  for 
the  most  part  make  up  his  difficulties  with 
the  Bible.  Selim  was  sure  that  parts  of  the 
Bible  must  have  been  lost.  Its  aim  is  noble 
and  attractive  but  how  to  reach  it  is  not  clear. 
The  Koran  says  that  to  each  race  has  been 
given  a  Book  and  a  beaten  track  ;  to  Jews 
the  Law  of  Moses,  to  Christians  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus,  and  to  Muslims  the  Koran.  But 
nowhere  in  the  Bible  are  found  such  details 
about  what  men  should  do  as  can  be  called  a 
clear  beaten  track  to  the  goal.     The  Bible 


156  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

does  not  say  how  many  times  a  day  a  man 
must  worship,  nor  what  words  he  shall  use  in 
worship,  nor  when  nor  how^  to  wash  the 
hands  and  feet,  nor  whether  business  for  gain 
is  right  or  wrong,  nor  what  men  ought  to 
wear,  nor  v/hether  it  is  ever  right  to  wear 
silk.  Selim  was  bound  by  the  Muslim  notion 
that  religion  is  a  set  of  rules  for  every  situa- 
tion in  life,  observance  of  which  secures 
merit. 

Sympathetically  wishing  to  untie  the  knots, 
Suleiba  took  Selim  into  Leviticus,  and  when 
the  young  man  said  that  this  book  was 
more  like  what  he  would  expect  from  God, 
Suleiba  pointed  out  that  the  precise  rules 
were  everywhere  mingled  with  statements  of 
great  principles  of  devotion  and  of  love  to 
God  and  man.  These  rules  he  compared  to 
the  ruts  in  the  mountain  roads  which  serve 
to  hold  ox-carts  on  the  path.  But  when 
people  like  those  early  Jews  were  being  led 
out  of  paganism  they  absorbed  the  principles 
of  a  life  for  God  which  are  the  foundation  of 
all  the  rules.  Then  they  began  to  under- 
stand the  will  of  God  and  to  follow  it  with 
reverence  although  it  requires  far  more  effort 
than  the  observance  of  daily  washings,  genu- 
flections and  formulas. 

"  Your  idea,"  said  Selim,  "  that  men  must 


In  Darkness  a  Great  Light         157 

do  more  than  the  rules  require  is  hard  to 
receive.  The  Koran  teaches  that  God,  seeing 
that  the  Jews  and  Christians  could  not  do 
what  was  required  of  them,  lays  on  Muslims 
no  burden  which  is  beyond  their  power.  It 
commands  us  to  pray  the  Lord  not  to  lay 
upon  us  that  for  which  we  have  no  strength, 
but  to  forgive  us  and  pity  us.  Men  are  frail 
and  do  wrong  through  the  strength  of  their 
desires.  What  recourse  have  they  but  the 
forgiving  mercy  of  God  ?  " 

"Selim,"  said  Suieiba  very  seriously, 
"have  you  ever  known  one  of  your  tribe 
who  became  a  murderer  or  an  adulterer?" 

''  Why,  yes,"  answered  Selim ; "  we  kill  such 
a  man  as  we  would  kill  a  snake  ;  he  spoils  the 
quiet  and  blackens  the  name  of  the  tribe." 

"Then  you  can  see,"  said  Suieiba,  "why 
God,  who  has  the  peace  and  honour  of  all 
mankind  to  protect,  cannot  wink  at  our  evil 
deeds  because  He  pities  us.  For  the  good  of 
all  and  for  the  sake  of  justice  to  all  He  has  to 
insist  that  none  shall  do  evil.  Look  at  this 
matter  from  another  side.  You  sincerely 
wish  to  draw  near  to  God.  Did  it  ever  strike 
you  that  so  long  as  evil  practices  are  cher- 
ished in  your  heart  because  it  is  hard  or 
uncomfortable  to  stop  them,  you  could  not 
bear   for   a   moment   to   face  the   holy  and 


1 58  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

Almighty  God  ?  Entrance  into  Paradise 
does  not  hang  upon  the  forgiving  compas- 
sion of  God  but  upon  the  harmony  with 
God's  will  of  the  wishes  of  the  man  who  asks 
admission.  The  Bible  says  truly  that  one 
day  evil  men  will  say  to  the  mountains  and 
the  rocks,  *  Fall  on  us  and  hide  us  from  the 
face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne.'  " 

Selim  was  greatly  shocked  at  this  plain 
speaking.  But  he  knew  in  his  heart  that  the 
words  were  true.  A  singular  result  of  this 
conversation  was  that  Selim  abruptly  stopped 
going  to  the  mosque.  He  was  unwilling  to 
countenance  by  his  presence  what  the  worship 
of  the  mosque  implies  of  lax  ideas  about 
wrong-doing.  But  the  good  deacon  did  not 
know  of  this  significant  step. 

Being  a  man  of  long  experience  Suleiba 
was  not  daunted  by  the  apparent  failure 
of  his  efforts  at  Bible  interpretation.  The 
Koran,  while  claiming  to  be  one  with  the 
Bible  in  authorship,  repeatedly  warns  Mus- 
lims against  Bible  teachings.  Suleiba  spoke 
tenderly  to  Selim  of  learning  from  Jesus, 
whose  words  stimulate  good  impulses,  and 
whose  life  is  the  one  model  of  manliness. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  replied  Selim,  "  I  believe  in 
Jesus  ;  the  Koran  tells  all  about  Him.  He 
was  born  of  a  virgin  at  a  word  from  God, 


In  Darkness  a  Great  Light  159 

and  so  He  is  called  the  Word  of  God.  He 
did  wonderful  things  ;  even  in  childhood  He 
made  a  bird  from  the  mud  and  when  He 
breathed  upon  it,  it  lived  and  flew  away. 
When  He  grew  up  He  healed  the  sick  and 
raised  the  dead,  but  the  Jews  wanted  to  kill 
Him.  So  God  called  Him  and  He  ascended 
to  heaven.  He  was  a  very  great  prophet, 
but  though  He  did  such  marvels  He  could 
not  get  men  to  hear  Him." 

In  view  of  the  Muslim's  opinion  that  he  has 
all  needed  knowledge  about  Jesus,  Suleiba 
told  Selim  of  the  blessedness  which  attends 
the  believer  who  is  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  becomes  a  son  of  God,  educated  by  his 
heavenly  Father  in  all  good  things,  and  his 
character  changed  by  grace.  But  Selim  at 
once  replied,  '*  The  Koran  says  it  is  sin  to 
call  men  the  sons  of  God  as  some  do.  It 
seems  to  me  like  laying  lawless  hands  on  the 
throne  of  the  Majesty  on  High  for  a  common 
man  to  call  God  his  Father."  Muslims  gen- 
erally believe  that  Jesus  Christ  will  return  to 
earth  and  destroy  Antichrist.  The  fact  is 
that  no  Muslim  can  become  a  godly  man  to- 
day until  Jesus  Christ  has  entered  his  heart 
to  slay  Antichrist  there  solidly  entrenched. 

Selim  found  himself  shocked  by  the  thought 
of  God  as  Father  to  believers — an  idea  as 


i6o  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

novel  and  offensive  to  a  Mohammedan  as  it 
is  fundamental  and  stimulating  to  a  Chris- 
tian. He  could  not  grasp  the  glorious  fact 
that  God  wills  and  aids  the  development  of 
character  in  man  Belief  in  the  divine  order- 
ing of  destinies  had  implied  to  his  mind  that 
character  is  a  fixed  fact,  like  the  colour  of 
the  eyes,  unchangeable.  His  aspirations 
were  limited  by  this  belief  to  the  knowledge 
of  what  good  works  God  wishes  him  to  do, 
so  that  ignorance  might  not  lead  to  wrong- 
doing. But  the  proposal  to  add  a  new  inter- 
pretation to  the  doctrine  that  destinies  are 
eternally  fixed  by  God  was  to  him  like  a 
temptation  of  the  devil.  He  could  only  say 
that  he  must  think. 

"  The  words  are  good,"  said  Selim  to  him- 
self after  long  thought  upon  this  strange  new 
topic,  **  but  the  man  is  better  ;  if  this  man  is 
a  specimen  of  what  God  makes  out  of  those 
who  look  to  Him  as  a  Father,  I  want  to  look 
to  Him  in  the  same  way."  He  found  in  him- 
self a  feeling  akin  to  that  of  a  man  who  has 
set  about  enlarging  and  repairing  his  house, 
and  learns  that  it  will  require  much  new  ma- 
terial and  the  changing  and  strengthening  of 
the  foundation.  The  question  then  arises 
whether  it  were  not  better  to  pull  down  all 
and  rebuild  from  the  bed  rock. 


In  Darkness  a  Great  Light  161 

A  few  days  later  Suleiba  with  some  hesita- 
tion invited  Selim  to  attend  the  Protestant 
church.  He  thought  that  the  young  man 
would  be  less  opinionated  after  seeing  for 
himself  the  worship  of  the  Christians. 

**  Are  there  pictures  ?  "  asked  Selim. 

Suleiba  laughed.  *'  You  have  burnt  your 
mouth  with  hot  milk,"  he  said,  "and  so  you 
blow  ice-cream.  No,  Selim,  God  is  spirit, 
and  they  who  worship  Him  must  worship  in 
spirit  and  truth." 

The  Protestant  chapel  at  Mosul  in  those 
days  was  a  dwelling  ho.ise.  Like  the  trus- 
tees of  our  congregations,  those  who  adapted 
that  building  had  no  thought  of  the  **  man 
outside  "  when  they  failed  to  form  a  scheme 
of  decoration.  When  the  ''  man  outside,"  in 
the  person  of  Selim,  entered  the  place,  the 
bare  interior  decided  for  him  in  the  first  five 
minutes  of  the  service  the  fitness  of  the  place 
for  true  worship. 

The  service  in  the  litde  chapel  was  to  Selim 
like  an  appeal  or  rather  a  summons  to  listen 
to  Jesus,  addressed  to  him  by  men  near  to 
God.  The  summons  was  for  him  to  stay  with 
them  and  in  humble  honesty  learn  what  they 
knew  and  he  did  not.  He  said  litde  to 
Suleiba,  save  to  thank  him  for  bringing  him 
there.     A  delicate  wish  not  to  embarrass  the 


l62  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

stranger  kept  members  of  the  congregation 
decorously  aloof  from  him.  So  Selim  went 
alone  into  the  street  and  strolled  by  a  round- 
about way  to  the  basket  maker's  house. 

That  evening  in  his  room  the  Kurd  faced 
candidly  the  fact  that  these  men  outside  of 
Islam,  who  follow  Jesus  Christ,  truly  wor- 
ship God  and  must  have  been  guided  by 
God.  A  craving  to  secure  the  same  guidance 
with  its  influence  upon  character  struck  at  his 
lifelong  Mohammedan  prejudice.  If  these 
Christians  do  have  the  help  of  God,  why 
should  not  he  join  them  ?  A  saying  of  Jesus 
Christ  which  had  arrested  his  attention  in  the 
New  Testament  now  came  to  mind  :  **  With- 
out Me  ye  can  do  nothing."  His  long  strug- 
gle to  reach  a  better  life  had  been  painful  be- 
cause he  had  fought  alone  ;  he  must  ask  help 
of  Jesus.  Selim  at  last  prayed.  *'  O  God," 
he  said,  *'  forgive  me  if  I  do  wrong  in  look- 
ing to  Jesus  because  this  man  Suleiba  whom 
He  has  taught  is  the  best  man  I  ever  knew. 
Forgive  my  ignorance  if  I  do  wrong  in  leav- 
ing Mohammed,  bless  me  if  I  do  right  in 
joining  myself  to  Jesus.  I  am  in  Thy  hands, 
submissive  to  Thy  will.      Amen." 

To  Suleiba,  when  next  they  met,  Selim  did 
not  tell  his  momentous  decision,  but  he  rather 
shyly  said  that  he  would  try  to  learn  more  of 


In  Darkness  a  Great  Light  163 

the  teaching-  of  Jesus  about  how  a  man  may 
purify  the  heart. 

**  The  Holy  Spirit,"  answered  Suleiba, 
*'has  long  been  drawing  you  towards  the 
truth.  Yield  to  this  desire  to  know  Jesus 
Christ.  His  words  give  life.  You  asked  me 
once  what  religion  I  follow.  Whatever  I 
know  of  religion,  whatever  of  God,  whatever 
of  right  and  wrong,  of  patience  and  love  and 
kindness,  Jesus  Christ  has  taught  me.  For 
He,  the  one  true,  pure,  holy  man,  in  His  life 
and  words,  and  loving  aim  of  good  to  men, 
shows  God  in  the  form  of  a  noble  man — in  a 
form  that  every  man  can  understand.  He 
loved  me  and  gave  Himself  up  for  me  and 
shed  His  blood  on  the  cross  that  I  might  not 
waste  my  life  and  perish  in  sin  far  from  God. 
I  love  Him  and  have  given  my  life  to  Him ; 
and  He  helps  and  teaches  me  every  day  and 
I  am  beginning  to  know  something  of  God 
through  Him.  You  can  know  God,  Selim, 
only  if  you  take  Jesus  for  your  model,  doing 
just  what  He  directs." 

Somehow  Selim^s  inbred  convictions,  his 
prejudices,  his  suspicions  had  lost  their  heavy 
resisting  power.  In  the  presence  of  this  serv- 
ant of  Jesus  Christ  they  became  thin  as  a 
fog  grows  thin  we  know  not  how  ;  a  light 
seemed  to  dawn  within  his  soul,  and  he  knew 


164  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

that  in  Jesus  Christ  he  had  found  what  he 
sought.  Telling  about  this  experience  after- 
wards this  Muslim  Kurd  said,  "  When  that 
man  taught  me  I  had  to  believe." 


XIII 

FOR  THE  SAKE  OF  MY  PEOPLE 

A  PITHY  Oriental  proverb  says,  Only 
he  who  has  fallen  from  a  roof  knows 
the  pains  of  falling  from  a  roof. 
Selim  now  began  to  sound  for  himself  the 
depths  of  that  bitterness  of  soul  which  besets 
every  man  who  is  cast  off  through  religious 
rancour  by  his  people.  His  own  father  had 
cursed  him ;  his  tribesmen  gnashed  their 
teeth  at  his  name.  He  was  to  be  an  outcast  ; 
neither  family  nor  sovereign  would  recognize 
that  he  ever  existed. 

It  was  strange  that  the  certainty  of  such 
ostracism  brought  with  it  no  regret  for  his  act 
of  allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ.  Like  many 
people  who  almost  imperceptibly  drift  into  a 
decision  that  is  novel  and  unexpected  and 
radical,  he  could  not  turn  back  the  hands  of 
his  clock.  He  had  no  sooner  decided  to  fol- 
low Jesus  Christ  than  he  was  as  if  he  had 
been  following  Him  for  years.  He  could  not 
do  otherwise.  The  bitterness  of  his  soul 
sprang  from  the  ignorant  injustice  of  his 
165 


i66  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

kinsfolk.  They  thought  him  an  infidel  and 
a  blasphemer.  If  he  could  only  get  his  fa- 
ther to  hear  him  he  could  convince  him  and 
his  tribe  that  they  misjudged  him  and  his 
faith.  Naturally  he  carried  to  Suleiba  the 
burden  on  his  heart. 

Suleiba's  garden  was  hardly  more  than  an 
orchard  of  peaches,  plums,  and  apricots,  with 
its  eastern  end  touching  the  river  bank.  Here 
and  there  in  open  spots  along  the  side  walls 
were  a  few  flowers  that  could  care  for  them- 
selves. Marigolds  lived  with  larkspur,  stocks 
with  wall  flowers  and  crimson  hibiscus  with 
roses  and  jessamine.  Along  the  eastern  wall 
of  the  garden  were  thick  woody  geraniums 
which  grew  as  shrubby  bushes  close  to  lux- 
uriant masses  of  roses.  Men  going  along  the 
narrow  foot-path  on  the  river  bank  below  the 
garden  wall  could  gather  from  the  overhang- 
ing branches  sweet-scented  yellow,  or  white, 
or  crimson  blooms  to  their  hearts'  content. 

Selim  felt  like  a  convict  under  life-sentence 
who  has  received  a  pardon.  He  was  now 
free ;  none  could  check  his  growth  in  power. 
Sitting  with  Suleiba  in  the  evening  among 
the  flowers  by  the  river  bank  he  was  trying 
to  make  the  old  man  see  that  he  could  cer- 
tainly lead  his  people  to  that  vision  of  the 
Christ  which  had  won  his  allegiance.     He 


For  the  Sake  of  My  People         167 

must  go  back  to  his  clan  and  give  them  the 
news  of  his  discovery. 

Suleiba  liked  the  enthusiasm  which  he  was 
forced  to  check.  He  told  Selim  that  such  a 
plan  was  foredoomed.  Before  he  had  found 
a  hearing  among  those  conscientious  Mo- 
hammedans, they  would  smite  him  to  the 
earth. 

In  the  midst  of  this  discussion  a  little  girl 
came  to  tell  her  father  that  a  stranger  at  the 
street  door  wished  to  see  him  a  moment. 
Suleiba  excused  himself  to  Selim  and  followed 
the  child  to  the  house,  wondering  what  this 
evening  visit  might  signify.  In  cities  with- 
out street-lamps  people  do  not  select  the 
evening  for  calls.  He  wondered  more  and 
more  when  the  visitor  turned  out  to  be  Nicolas, 
his  neighbour  of  the  cotton  bazaar.  Nicolas 
was  that  one  of  the  rubbish-throwers  who 
had  fallen  in  the  street,  and  had  been  helped 
by  Suleiba  to  rise  and  go  his  way.  He  would 
not  come  into  the  house,  but  speaking  rapidly 
in  a  hoarse  whisper  he  said  : 

**Hens  lay  curious  eggs  sometimes,  but 
you  have  certainly  laid  a  gem  for  an  egg. 
You  have  delivered  yourself  of  a  plan  for 
turning  that  young  Kurd  from  his  faith,  and 
the  whole  city  will  shortly  thirst  to  reward 
you.     Did  you  expect  to  buy  candy  at  the 


i68  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

cost  of  the  flavouring  ?  What  did  you  sup- 
pose ?  " 

"  I  have  done,"  replied  Suleiba,  **  just  what 
I  always  shall  do  when  a  Gentile  asks  me 
about  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  What  has 
happened  ?  " 

**  There  is  no  time  for  long-  explanations," 
said  Nicolas ;  *'  a  crazy  Kurd  from  this  man's 
tribe  has  a  grudge  against  him  or  a  hope  to 
inherit  his  property.  So  he  has  come  six 
days'  journey  to  Mosul  to  tell  the  Governor 
that  this  Selim  is  a  turncoat  knave  who  will 
upset  the  faith  of  all  the  Mohammedans  in 
the  city  if  he  is  not  quickly  killed.  The  Gov- 
ernor whom  we  have  all  thought  a  just  and 
high-toned  king  has  now  become  a  boss. 
He  has  ordered  a  great  council  to  meet  to- 
morrow and  the  police  will  arrest  Selim  as 
soon  as  he  appears  at  his  shop  in  the  morning. 
When  there  is  a  scarcity  of  true  men  the  peo- 
ple will  call  a  goat  My  Lord  Abdurrahman. 
So  these  people  think  that  the  young  Kurd 
is  too  precious  to  be  allowed  to  go  astray. 
The  council  is  to  force  him  to  return  to  his 
own  religion,  if  he  likes  life  well  enough  to 
want  any  more  of  it.  What  they  will  do  to 
you  I  do  not  know.  But  you  got  that  poor 
fellow  into  this  scrape  and  it  falls  to  you  to 
get  him  out.     You  must  chase  him  out  of  the 


For  the  Sake  of  My  People         1 69 

city  as  soon  as  you  can,  or  he  will  be  carried 
out  in  pieces." 

Nicolas  turned  away  abruptly,  afraid  of 
being  seen.  But  he  turned  back,  for  his 
heart  was  not  made  of  sole-leather,  to  add 
that  he  was  sending  off  a  kelek  (raft)  load  of 
goods  for  Tekrit  the  next  evening  and  if  that 
would  be  of  use,  it  would  be  at  the  service  of 
the  foolish  Kurd  who  let  himself  be  converted 
from  the  rotten  doctrines  of  the  camel-driver 
of  Mecca  ! 

Shemmas  Suleiba  was  perplexed.  He  had 
been  the  means  of  turning  a  Mohammedan 
from  his  faith.  He  had  not  sought  this 
achievement.  It  had  come  to  him.  Selim 
had  asked  for  light  and  by  an  impulse  of 
generosity  which  one  might  wish  was  more 
frequent,  Suleiba  gave  him  what  light  he 
had.  No !  this  was  not  all.  The  young 
man  longed  for  knowledge  of  God.  Any 
Christian  was  bound  to  give  him  the  knowl- 
edge that  through  Christ,  whom  he  knew 
not,  the  seeker  can  find  God.  Now  Selim 
was  about  to  reap  the  harvest  from  the  seed 
which  Suleiba  had  planted,  and  a  whirlwind 
harvest  it  was  !  A  Mohammedan  who  has 
turned  his  back  on  Mohammed  for  the  sake 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  renegade  in  religion,  an 
enemy  of  his  own  flesh  and  blood,  a  traitor 


lyo  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

to  his  sovereign  the  Caliph  of  Islam.  So  that 
atom  in  the  great  Mohammedan  mass  is 
condemned  beforehand  and  in  the  name  of 
the  holy  religion  to  lose  his  civil  rights,  his 
property  rights,  and  in  ordinary  course  even 
his  life.  Suleiba  as  the  instigator  of  his 
revolt  against  Islam  would  be  treated  as  ac- 
cessory to  the  crime.  It  was  not  his  own  fate 
that  perplexed  Suleiba,  but  that  of  Selim 
whom  the  Muslims  had  planned  to  destroy. 
For  himself  Suleiba  had  no  regrets.  His 
Master's  command  was  to  teach  men.  He 
had  done  his  duty  and  the  result  to  himself 
was  the  affair  of  Him  who  issued  the  com- 
mand. The  whole  problem  related  to  poor 
Selim,  lounging  in  his  garden  at  that  mo- 
ment. 

Suleiba  trembled  for  the  Kurd  because 
when  defense  of  their  religion  calls  them  from 
the  ease  of  the  self-seeker,  Mohammedans 
shake  ofT  listlessness.  They  are  transformed 
like  a  cat  dozing  on  the  lawn  when  a  robin 
alights  close  by.  Alert,  eager,  full  of  resource, 
they  stop  at  nothing  until  they  have  crushed 
the  rash  free-thinker  who  would  shake  ofi  the 
shackles  of  their  tradition. 

On  returning  to  Selim,  Suleiba  did  not  find 
him  on  the  bench  where  he  had  left  him.  In 
the  darkness  he  shortly  saw  him,  however, 


For  the  Sake  of  My  People        171 

close  to  the  garden  wall,  partly  screened  by 
a  bush,  looking  earnestly  towards  the  river. 
At  the  sound  of  Suleiba's  footsteps,  Selim  left 
the  wall  and  came  to  his  friend.  "They 
were  talking  about  me,"  he  said,  with  an 
effort  to  swallow  a  lump  in  his  throat.  "  I 
recognized  the  voice  of  my  cousin  Osman 
Aga.  He  was  saying,  *  The  fellow  must  be 
killed.  All  his  life  he  has  been  an  infidel  at 
heart,  and  he  has  no  right  to  live  another 
hour  in  this  land  of  God's  people.'  The 
other  man  answered,  *  Between  mosque  and 
church  the  fellow  is  hesitating  and  can  really 
worship  not  at  all.  God  will  punish  such 
wickedness.'  At  this  Osman  said,  *  The 
trouble  is  you  men  of  the  city  fear  to  be 
impolite.  There  is  no  need  for  ceremony. 
For  a  renegade  the  sword  is  polite  enough.' 
Then  the  two  men  passed  out  of  hearing. 
Why  they  were  walking  there  I  cannot  im- 
agine. They  sauntered  along  the  river  bank, 
evidently  without  thought  of  being  overheard. 
But  they  have  let  me  know  that  the  old 
manacles  are  to  be  forced  on  me  again. 
*  Don't  think,  don't  do  ! '  The  condition  of 
my  enjoying  friendship  is  the  wearing  of  a 
chain  like  a  dog  too  fierce  to  run  at  large." 

"Selim,"   said    Suleiba,    "sometimes    we 
cannot  see  a  step  in  advance,  and  sometimes 


172  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

the  path  for  us  to  take  is  as  clear  as  if  we 
could  see  the  hand  of  the  Lord  pointing  it 
out.  To-day  one  thing  is  perfectly  clear  for 
you.  You  must  flee  for  your  life  like  Lot  on 
the  last  night  of  Sodom." 

Suleiba  then  told  Selim  of  the  gather- 
ing storm  reported  by  Nicolas.  Curiously 
enough  Selim's  mind  looked  backwards ;  he 
was  more  impressed  by  the  fact  than  the 
substance  of  the  warning.  "  Your  kindness,'' 
he  said,  ''  to  that  man  when  he  fell  in  the 
dust,  gave  him  the  measure  of  your  stature ; 
so  he  runs  to  warn  you  of  trouble.  To  render 
good  for  evil  is  a  good  rule.  It  wins  men 
like  Nicolas. 

"  You  say  I  must  flee.  But  I  must  take 
word  to  my  people  of  the  way  to  better  their 
lives.  Osman  wants  to  make  trouble,  but  I 
will  not  run  away  from  him.  My  place  is  in 
my  father's  tent.  In  his  old  age  if  I  read  the 
Bible  to  him  and  show  him  how  we  have 
been  misled  about  Jesus  Christ,  he  will  see 
the  truth,  and  join  in  my  happy  acceptance 
of  the  way  to  God." 

"To  speak  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to 
your  father,"  said  Suleiba  sadly,  "  would  be 
like  writing  on  ice.  The  impression  would 
wash  itself  away  in  a  moment.  First  learn 
how  to  lay  the  truth  before  him,  then  try  to 


For  the  Sake  of  My  People         1 73 

win  him.  You  must  flee  at  once  for  your 
life.  But  do  not  stay  in  these  regions  where 
what  you  wear  shows  every  one  who  you  are. 
Go  to  Constantinople.  Find  the  missionaries 
there.  Study  under  their  guidance.  After 
two  or  three  years  the  people  here  will  have 
died  or  at  least  they  will  have  forgotten  you. 
Then  if  a  way  is  opened,  you  can  come  back 
to  teach  your  people,  sure  that  the  Lord  will 
come  with  you." 

They  talked  long.  Dilemmas  on  all  sides 
finally  allowed  one  problem  to  emerge ;  that 
of  foiling  the  Governor's  purpose  to  arrest 
Selim.  They  agreed  that  the  simplest  plan 
was  the  best.  Selim  would  stay  in  his  room 
and  let  the  police  tire  themselves  by  wait- 
ing about  his  stall  in  the  bazaars.  Suleiba 
shrewdly  guessed  that  this  would  oblige  the 
police  to  consult  their  superiors  before  a  new 
scheme  could  be  devised.  If  the  police 
should  seek  him  at  the  basket-maker's 
house,  Selim  could  escape  through  the  gar- 
den, for  not  even  the  police  would  imagine 
that  the  garden  of  a  house  in  the  Moham- 
medan quarter  would  give  their  quarry  pas- 
sage to  a  house  in  the  Christian  quarter  that 
was  in  the  edge  of  the  city,  far  from  the 
basket-maker's  door.  Whether  the  police 
sought  him  at  his  room  or  not,  it  was  agreed 


1 74  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

that  after  dark  Selim  should  pass  into 
Suleiba's  garden.  Suleiba  would  make  all 
preparations  for  the  flight.  He  would  have 
a  bag  of  provisions  ready,  and  a  cloak  and 
silken  head-dress  of  an  Anezi  Bedouin  Arab 
which  he  had  long  used  in  travelling.  He 
would  also  arrange  with  Nicolas  to  have  the 
raft  drift  a  while  near  the  foot  of  Suleiba's 
garden ;  and  as  soon  as  Selim  was  safely  on 
board  he  could  breathe  freely  since  no  one 
could  foresee  that  he  might  go  down  the 
river  on  a  kelek. 

So  Selim  would  safely  reach  Tekrit  while 
the  Governor  was  still  seeking  him  in  Mosul. 
Below  Tekrit  steamers  of  the  English  Lynch 
line  occasionally  appear  on  the  river.  If 
Selim  could  board  one  of  these  steamers  he 
could  easily  make  his  way  to  Bussora  and 
thence  to  Constantinople.  **  God  will  pro- 
tect and  guide  you,"  said  the  pious  deacon, 
'*  for  He  has  certainly  chosen  you,  a  Paul,  to 
work  for  Him." 

To  this  fatherly  blessing  Selim  said, 
**  Amen  ! "  He  had  sacrificed  his  wish  to 
teach  his  clan  for  the  sake  of  better  service 
in  the  future.  He  believed  that  the  sacrifice 
was  accepted  of  God.  In  the  warm  enthu- 
siasm of  his  broader  vision  of  God  the  place 
where  he  stood  seemed  holy  ground.     Both 


For  the  Sake  of  My  People         175 

of  these  men  humbly  expected  the  next  day 
to  be  of  sacramental  importance,  for  in  a 
successful  working  of  the  plan  for  Selim's 
complete  deliverance  from  the  power  that 
would  take  his  life,  they  would  see  the  hand 
of  God.     In  this  assurance  they  separated. 

The  Governor's  plan  for  a  dramatic  scene 
at  the  council  met  several  obstacles  the  next 
day.  The  police  officers  lingering  near 
Selim's  stall  in  the  bazaars  intended  to 
make  no  noise  in  the  arrest.  Turkish  offi- 
cials delight  in  avoiding  street  scenes  by 
getting  a  victim,  through  his  own  volition, 
into  some  secluded  corner  before  he  suspects 
their  purpose  to  arrest  him.  In  this  case  a 
man  in  plain  clothes  was  to  tell  Selim  that 
the  Inspector  of  Schools  would  be  glad  to 
see  him  at  the  Government  House  at  his 
early  convenience.  In  the  background  the 
policemen  would  lurk  to  make  sure  that  he 
accepted  this  polite  invitation,  and  that  he 
was  thrown  into  a  well-barred  cell  the  mo 
ment  he  passed  inside  of  the  Government 
House  doors. 

It  was  full  noon  before  the  men  detailed  to 
execute  this  scheme  sent  to  tell  the  Police 
Commissary  why  their  enterprise  had  been 
delayed.  Selim  had  not  yet  appeared  at  his 
stall   in  the  bazaars.     The  Commissary  or- 


1^6  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

dered  a  quiet  search  for  the  young  man.  He 
wished  to  avoid  any  popular  excitement. 

Policemen  loitered  about  the  road  to  the 
Tigris  Bridge  in  vain.  Others  walked  about 
the  bazaars.  One  ventured  to  ask  Suleiba 
in  his  shop  whether  he  had  seen  Selim 
Effendi  that  morning.  Suleiba  truthfully 
answered  that  he  had  not.  Nicolas  from 
his  stall  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street 
came  over  and  whispered  to  the  policeman  : 
*'  You  need  not  bother  Shemmas  Suleiba.  I 
was  at  his  house  last  night  and  saw  him 
alone.  This  Kurd  is  not  there.  Perhaps  he 
has  gone  into  the  country  to-day."  Another 
policeman  stopped  before  the  basket-maker's 
shop  and  asked  if  Selim  Effendi  was  in  the 
house.  "No,"  said  the  honest  Hamdi,  "I 
haven't  seen  him  to-day  for  he  doesn't  sound 
a  trumpet  when  he  goes  or  when  he  comes. 
He  is  probably  at  his  shop  in  the  bazaars." 

The  council  at  the  Government  House 
waited  impatiently  for  Selim  to  be  brought 
before  it,  and  in  the  meanwhile  discussed  the 
facts  of  his  case.  The  Governor  stated  that 
this  man  had  given  him  much  concern.  The 
interests  of  religion,  always  paramount  in 
the  minds  of  officials  of  his  majesty  the 
Sultan,  required  that  the  young  man  should 
be  severely  disciplined.     Selim  had  the  re- 


For  the  Sake  of  My  People         177 

pute  of  being  a  free-thinker,  had  left  the 
seminary  at  Kerkuk  in  disgrace  because  of 
his  irreligious  habits.  He  had  spent  some 
time  among  the  heretical  Persians,  and  had 
been  found  by  Colonel  Ali  Bey  reading 
dangerous  books  which  had  very  properly 
been  taken  from  him.  He  had  formed 
friendly  relations  with  Christians,  and  had 
even  attended  their  worship.  *'  This  disor- 
derly and  irreligious  manner  of  life  appears," 
he  said,  *'  to  be  a  habit  with  him,  and  wise 
measures  must  correct  it.  But  the  young 
man  is  not  yet  in  hand  although  the  police 
are  diligently  seeking  him.  It  remains  for 
the  council  to  suggest  how  the  case  shall  be 
treated." 

The  Inspector  of  Schools  remarked  that 
Selim  Efiendi  not  only  consorted  with 
Christians  but  was  separating  himself  from 
Muslims.  No  one  knows  what  he  does  with 
himself.  Colonel  Ali  Bey  suggested  that  this 
alone  merited  severe  punishment.  The  Com- 
missary of  Police  informed  the  council  that 
Selim  had  been  seen  reading  a  Christian 
book  while  waiting  for  customers  in  his  shop. 
What  the  book  was  the  police  could  not  see 
but  its  handsome  binding  showed  that  it  was 
the  work  of  an  infidel.  Several  men  said  that 
such  conduct  cried  aloud  for  the  imprison- 


178  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

ment  of  the  Kurd.  But  the  Cadi  asked 
whether  Selim  was  faithful  at  the  mosque. 
The  Commissary  of  Police  replied  that  the 
worst  feature  of  the  case  was  that  for  some 
time  the  police  had  not  seen  him  pray  in  his 
shop  at  all.  Careful  inquiry  had  revealed  that 
for  some  weeks  Selim  had  not  once  been  seen 
in  any  mosque. 

"  Great  God  1 "  cried  Osman  Aga  who 
stood  in  a  group  of  servants  at  the  door. 
"  Selim  is  already  a  renegade !  In  the  name 
of  the  prophet  he  ought  to  be  killed  without 
any  questions." 

"It  is  clear,"  said  the  Cadi,  "that  this 
young  man  must  be  compelled  to  perform  his 
religious  duties.  He  must  be  made  to  cease 
friendly  relations  with  the  Christians ;  his 
dangerous  books  must  be  destroyed ;  but," 
he  added,  "  let  there  be  no  lack  of  mercy  in 
dealing  with  him,  for  our  religion  requires 
patient  exhortation  before  the  penalty  of  the 
law  is  inflicted.  Let  Selim  be  imprisoned  in 
the  dark  dungeon  for  a  week  or  ten  days. 
After  this  affliction  let  him  be  brought  before 
the  council  to  be  questioned.  By  that  time 
he  will  probably  be  ready  to  repent.  If  not, 
let  what  is  necessary  be  done." 

So  the  Police  Commissary  was  instructed 
to  have  his  men  get  Selim  promptly  to  the 


For  the  Sake  of  My  People         1 79 

Government  House  if  he  could  be  found. 
After  dark  the  police  were  to  go  quietly  to 
the  young  man's  lodging  in  the  Street  of  No 
Turning,  and  arrest  him,  searching  the  prem- 
ises until  his  hiding-place  should  be  dis- 
covered. 


XIV 

FROM  THE  SNARE  OF  THE  FOWLER 

OF  the  verdict  of  the  Cadi,  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  council,  and  the  doings 
of  the  police,  Selim  in  his  room 
naturally  did  not  hear.  Yet  a  man  in  his 
predicament  cannot  very  well  avoid  recogniz- 
ing his  position  as  somewhat  like  that  of  a 
man  walking  a  tight-rope.  Like  such  an 
acrobat  he  had  need  of  assurance  that  keeps 
the  head  cool ;  and  quiet  confidence  is  half  of 
success.  Fearing  nothing  the  Kurd  quietly 
waited  for  the  dusk  to  screen  his  flight  from 
Mosul. 

While  he  chose  the  few  things  which  he 
could  take  with  him,  he  thought  of  the 
change  that  might  be  wrought  in  his  tribe  if 
they  only  knew  that  the  submission  of  which 
Mohammedans  boast  implies  the  heart-sin- 
cerity which  really  believes  God.  How  that 
one  truth  would  quicken  the  old  chief  Hassan 
Bey!  How  kind-hearted,  faithful  Suleiman 
would  be  enamoured  of  the  idea  of  help  from 
the  Almighty  given  with  a  Father's  pity  for 
i8o 


From  the  Snare  of  the  Fowler       181 

need !  How  living  a  life  shaped  by  the 
words  and  deeds  of  Jesus  Christ  would  lift  to 
an  unrecognizable  plane  the  whole  tribe ; 
stopping  bickerings,  jealousies  and  evil  covet- 
ings,  and  giving  nobler  meaning  to  the 
"brotherhood"  which  they  often  yiew  as 
Joab  did  when  he  smote  Amasa  under  the 
fifth  rib.  How  the  guidance  of  Jesus  Christ 
would  take  fear  and  discontent  from  the 
women  of  the  tribe,  and  give  happy  laughing 
faces  to  the  children  in  the  place  of  the  dull 
gloom  which  grows  with  their  growth.  How 
could  he  go  from  them  when  he  had  so  much 
that  they  ought  to  know  ! 

Then  he  fell  to  musing  upon  the  linked 
series  of  events  which  had  drawn  him  to  the 
discovery  that  Jesus  Christ  satisfies  such  a 
heart-longing  as  came  to  him,  whence  he 
knew  not,  while  doing  the  routine  duties  of 
the  Ramazan  fast  in  the  camp  at  the  Kurd's 
Bed.  In  the  seminary  at  Kerkuk  a  mere 
chance  suggestion  from  a  comrade  had  taken 
him  to  the  old  Fire- worshipper  at  Bijur  and 
to  the  Bible.  Thence  first  came  to  his  soul 
some  inkling  of  the  confidence  and  the  power 
that  springs  from  devotion  of  the  heart  to 
God.  A  strange  impulse  had  sent  him  to 
Mosul  without  strong  resolution  until  despair 
in  the  valley  of  the  Zab  forced  him  to  see 


l82  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

that  ease  and  a  full  stomach  are  not  the 
only  things  worth  while.  Even  the  episode 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  church  had  pre- 
pared his  mind  rightly  to  value  Shemmas 
Suleiba.  Had  luck  favoured  his  feet  from 
step  to  step  ?  No !  One  who  wished  his 
development  had  placed  in  his  heart  impulse 
after  impulse  which  led  him  like  a  call  from 
afar.  The  change  of  his  feelings,  of  his  gauge 
of  values,  and  his  new  scheme  of  life  were  all 
of  divine  origin.  He  had  reason  for  certainty 
that  he  was  not  alone  as  he  started  upon  this 
adventurous  journey.  Was  he  a  fanatic  in 
his  new  faith  as  in  the  old  ?  Such  fanatics 
shape  the  world  ! 

When  the  Commissary  was  preparing  for 
the  expedition  to  the  Street  of  No  Turning, 
Osman  Aga  appeared,  anxious  to  join  the 
party. 

The  Commissary  agreed.  **You  can  go 
and  find  the  fellow,"  he  said.  "He  will  not 
suspect  you,  and  you  can  hold  him  in  talk. 
We  will  follow  in  a  few  moments  and  take 
him."  To  himself  he  thought,  "  When  that 
crazy  Kurd  finds  this  rascally  Selim,  if  any- 
thing happens  it  will  be  the  will  of  God." 
And  the  Commissary  chuckled. 

Osman  stumbled  along  the  rough  unlighted 
way  until  he  reached  the  distant  Street  of  No 


From  the  Snare  of  the  Fowler       183 

Turning.  There  it  was  easy  to  recognize  the 
basket-maker's  house.  He  knocked  at  the 
door  and  asked  for  Selim  Effendi. 

*'  He  must  be  in  his  room  asleep,"  answered 
Hamdi  from  an  upper  window. 

"Great  God!  this  is  no  time  for  sleeping! 
His  father  has  sent  him  a  message  by  me. 
Wake  him  up  and  tell  him  to  come  down." 

Hamdi  called,  "  Selim  Effendi  1  Selim  Ef- 
fendi !  a  man  has  come  who  wants  to  see 
you.  He  says  he  comes  from  your  father." 
There  was  no  answer.  The  basket-maker, 
carrying  a  tallow  candle  in  his  hand,  pushed 
open  the  door  of  the  room.  The  room  was 
empty  I 

Hamdi  went  back  to  his  window,  which  he 
closed  after  calling  out  to  Osman,  **  He  is 
not  in  his  room." 

"  Open  the  door,"  cried  Osman  Aga.  ''  Fll 
find  him ! " 

To  this  Hamdi  paid  no  attention,  while 
Osman  kicked  and  pounded  at  the  door, 
cursing  the  basket-maker  by  way  of  per- 
suasion. 

The  tramp  of  soldiers  was  heard  in  the 
street.  **What  are  you  bawling  about?" 
said  the  Commissary  to  Osman  Aga.  **  Do 
you  want  to  bring  out  the  whole  neighbour- 
hood ?     Shut  the  hole  in  your  mouth  !  " 


184  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

"They  would  not  let  me  in,"  answered 
Osman,  ''and  now  they  say  he  is  not  there." 

The  Commissary  knocked  at  the  door  and 
gave  the  brief  command,  **  Open  ! " 

Hamdi  first  made  certain  from  his  window 
that  rightful  authority  issued  the  order ;  then 
he  shuffled  down  the  stairs  and  threw  open 
the  door.  Osman  Aga  tried  to  rush  in,  but 
was  throttled  and  thrown  into  the  street  by 
the  energetic  Commissary. 

"Are  you  Hamdi,  the  basket-maker?" 
asked  the  Commissary.  "Where  is  Selim 
EfTendi  who  lives  in  your  house  ?  " 

"He  generally  comes  in  soon  after  the 
evening  prayer  and  goes  to  bed.  But  to- 
day I  think  he  did  not  go  out  and  I  think 
he  has  not  come  back.  Selim  Efiendi  is  a 
Kurd  and  likes  the  open  air  ;  he  may  be  in 
the  garden  now." 

The  Commissary  sent  three  men  into  the 
garden  to  search  it  and  to  see  that  no  one 
sneaked  out  some  other  way;  he  ordered 
two  men  to  attend  him  while  he  searched  the 
house  from  cellar  to  garret,  excepting  of 
course  one  room  where  the  women  of  the 
family  were  shut  up.  He  looked  into  every 
cranny,  he  held  his  lantern  into  every  closet, 
he  peered  into  big  earthen  water-jars,  he 
probed  with  his  sword  the  wide  chimney  of 


From  the  Snare  of  the  Fowler       1 85 

the  kitchen,  and  then  he  said,  "  Even  a  great 
magician  could  not  make  himself  invisible  so 
completely." 

In  Selim's  room  were  his  cloak,  his  bedding 
on  the  floor,  a  few  reed  pens  and  some  writ- 
ing-paper, a  Koran,  another  book  in  Kurdish, 
which  Osman  afterwards  testified  was  a  book 
on  astronomy,  in  Selim's  own  handwriting. 
There  were  also  three  or  four  silver  coins  on 
a  sheet  of  paper  with  the  legend,  *'  The  dues 
of  Hamdi  Aga."  But  of  Selim  himself  there 
was  not  a  hair. 

The  Commissary  of  Police  was  puzzled  and 
angry.  He  could  do  no  more.  So  he  left 
three  soldiers  in  the  garden  and  three  more 
in  the  street  in  front  of  Hamdi's  door  to  seize 
any  one  who  might  try  to  pass  in  or  out. 
Then  he  returned  discomfited  to  police  head- 
quarters to  send  cavalry  patrols  to  the  Tigris 
Bridge  and  to  the  roads  leading  into  the  des- 
ert, and  infantrymen  to  patrol  the  streets  until 
dawn. 

However,  at  the  very  time  when  the  police 
began  their  search  of  Hamdi's  house,  Selim, 
in  the  dress  of  a  Bedouin  Arab,  and  carrying 
a  traveller's  saddle-bags,  was  saying  farewell 
to  Suleiba  on  the  narrow  path  by  the  river 
under  the  roses  at  the  foot  of  the  garden. 
There  was  triumph  in  his  hard-won  freedom 


l86  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

from  the  tyranny  of  Islam.  Yet  his  passion- 
ate yearning  to  tell  his  people  without  wait- 
ing a  day  what  Jesus  Christ  can  do  for  every 
man  willing  to  learn  of  Him  made  this  secret 
flight  seem  like  a  desertion. 

'*  I  have  riches  to  spare,"  he  said  to  Suleiba. 
"  I  might  give  them  to  my  father  and  the 
tribe  1 " 

"Yes,"  said  Suleiba,  "and  some  day  God 
will  open  the  way.  To-day  He  only  offers 
you  this  ke/ek.  For  the  sake  of  your  people 
take  it  thankfully.  While  you  are  away  use 
every  opportunity  to  prepare  for  the  great 
work  of  your  life.  It  is  hard  to  part ;  but  you 
must  not  linger  here.  Good-bye,  my  son ; 
may  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  you  always  ;  and  may  He  bring  you  back 
in  His  appointed  time  to  lead  your  people." 

"  Good-bye,  my  father  !  "  replied  Selim. 
"  By  God's  grace  I  owe  more  than  life  to  you. 
I  shall  see  you  again,  if  God  will,  although  I 
am  now  fleeing  in  the  night  as  if  my  new 
riches  were  stolen  goods  ! " 

Selim  stepped  upon  the  unsteady  raft 
which,  like  Moses'  basket  of  rushes,  was 
destined  for  a  greater  service  than  its  rough 
designers  could  imagine.  For  it  was  to  bear 
this  adventurous  Kurd  safely  from  the  clutch 
of  the  enemies  of  growth. 


From  the  Snare  of  the  Fowler       187 

Silently  the  men  pushed  off  from  the  shore, 
and  the  raft  of  inflated  goatskins,  steered  by- 
long  and  clumsy  oars,  passed  down  the  river 
and  disappeared  in  the  darkness.  And  so 
slipped  away  from  the  authorities  at  Mosul 
every  clue  that  might  have  given  answer  to 
their  baffling  question :  What  became  of 
Sehm  ? 

Selim  has  not  yet  answered  the  question  of 
the  self-complacent  Mussulmans  of  Mosul. 
In  a  snug  little  room  in  the  Akserai  district 
of  Constantinople,  not  too  far  from  the  mis- 
sionaries whose  warm  regard  he  quickly  won, 
he  gave  himself  to  the  working  out  of  his  un- 
changeable purpose.  His  Kurdish  kinsmen 
have  not  a  single  printed  book  in  their  own 
beloved  language.  Selim's  purpose  looked 
to  preparing  for  them  one  book — THE  book. 
Some  day  it  will  silently  go  forth.  Being  the 
first  Kurdish  book  to  be  printed  it  will  be 
read  as  eagerly  as  we  read  it  because  it  is  the 
noblest  English  book.  In  the  fastnesses  of 
the  Zagros  mountains  that  one  book  will  act 
as  a  ferment  in  the  tribesmen's  minds,  chang- 
ing the  point  of  view,  the  aims,  and  the  sphere 
of  vision  of  man  after  man  and  woman  after 
woman.  After  a  time  it  will  lift  little  groups 
above   the   influence  of   the  hoary  Moham- 


1 88  A  Muslim  Sir  Galahad 

medan  maxim,  "Don't  do!  Don't  think!" 
Then  will  begin  the  brave  personal  mission 
which  will  reveal  to  men  what  became  of 
Selim  the  Free-thinker. 


THE  END 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


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NORMAN  DUNCAN 

The  Best  of  a  Bad  Job 

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WINIFRED  ARNOLD 

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WILFRED  T.  GREArFELL,  M.D. 


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MRS.  MAUD  JOHNSON  ELMORE 

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RUPERT  HUGHES 

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MARY  ELIZABETH  SMITH 

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ANl^E  GILBERT 

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is   certainly   interesting." — Missions. 

ISABEL  G.  and  FLORENCE  L.  BUSH 
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